Protect and Survive VII: Show the World
by RowenaR
Summary: Laura Cadman has a protective streak of her own, most of all if it's about Evan Lorne... and sometimes it just messes things up considerably.
1. Prologue

**Author:** RowenaR

**Rating:** K

**Category: **Humor

**Disclaimer:** Stargate belongs to Gekko and… all those other people making money with it. Anyway, I don't. Honestly. So – I don't own, you don't sue. Deal?

**Summary: **Laura Cadman has a protective streak of her own, most of all if it's about Evan Lorne... and sometimes it just messes things up considerably. **  
**

**A/N: **And here we go again... let's see where this is taking me (BTW, this is by far one of the worst summaries I've ever written). And don't worry, there will be a family visit piece, but this one begged to be written first. So everyone still remembers what I said about the phrase I wanted Rodney to say? Here comes the corresponding story.

Anyway, as always: Not a native speaker, so please excuse any weird grammatical constructions, run-ons and typos. Feedback will earn you a cookie, flames will roast my marshmellows.

* * *

**Protect and Survive VII: ****Show the world**

"_Stand by your man  
And show the world  
You love him."_

_Tammy Wynette, "Stand by your man"_

**Prologue**

Ah, finally. Finally the I.O.A. have made up their mind and given them their reply to weeks of hard work, impatience, fights and a lot of other unpleasant things. When Sheppard had told them that they have finally received an answer, he had suddenly felt a few pounds lighter, as if a burden worth several field packs was just lifted off him. And now he's on his way down to the explosives lab to lift the same burden off someone else.

So if he just could… oh, there she is. All alone in the lab, sitting in front of a laptop, her right foot up on the seat with her and her chin up on her knee… he'll never understand how she can work in such a position. He's even tried to do it himself secretly, but all he managed was a cramp in his right calf and the absolute certainty that there are some things about her he'll _never_ figure out.

She still hasn't acknowledged him, and the way she's staring at the screen biting her lip and now and then typing something tells him that she's deep in concentration. Seems to be quite the puzzle. But it's already 2000, and he's dying to tell her something, so he folds his arms and leans against the door frame. "Still working, Captain?"

To his surprise, she doesn't twitch or jump, but calmly replies without even looking up from her screen: "You just have to say it over and over again, don't you?"

He grins. "Yep. Captain Cadman. Really has a nice ring to it." And it has, not only because of the alliteration. It's already been a month since her – like he thinks overdue – promotion, but the pride he felt when Sheppard finally gave her the bars is still enduring. He knows it sounds ridiculous, but he'd felt the strong impulse to tell everyone that this was _his_ girlfriend Sheppard was making a Captain. _His_ girlfriend who'd exposed the one who'd planted that bomb all those years ago and _his_ girlfriend who'd fought Goa'uld and Ori and Wraith and _his_ girlfriend who'd saved his own life and that of many other people over the course of the years and of course _his_ girlfriend who'd stubbornly refused to let an ex-Genii get the better of her.

Well, and _his_ girlfriend who's still not looking up from her screen. "You're only saying that because you think that's somehow _your_ merit."

Whatever it is, it must be really mind-boggling, if it consumes all of her attention like this. And so he decides to taunt her a little. "Well… isn't it?"

It doesn't have the desired effect, though. She's _still_ not looking up. "Last time I checked, _I_ was the one who had to put up the effort to get those bars."

Well… not that she's _wrong_ about that. "Yeah, uh… whatever. " But it's really starting to bug him that she's paying her screen more attention than him, so he walks up to her and puts his hands down on the desk on either side of her from behind her. "What are you working on?"

And _finally_ she stops typing and leans back in her seat, with her head against his chest. He can't resist putting a little kiss in the crook of her neck. "Fixing something Rodney screwed up." Uh-oh, he thinks he knows what she's referring to. And he already feels uncharacteristic sympathy for Rodney welling up.

She reaches up to rub her eyes. Makes him wonder if she's been on this practically the whole day. The only time he saw her today had been at lunch where she had just grumbled something about feeling cabin fever coming on and had artfully avoided talking about whatever she was doing down here. Sighing soundlessly, he draws up another chair beside her. "What's he done now?"

She makes a face. "The force shield around the containment chamber was screwed up when he did this power tweaking stuff last week. But we need the field for all our pretty experiments. And since everyone else is either on leave, off-world or simply not in the mood to do this, I'm stuck with it. I swear, the moment I get my hands on Rodney McKay…"

Yep, major bout of sympathy now. He's been on the receiving end of Laura's wrath enough to know that Rodney's in for an unpleasant experience, and probably not only from Laura, but the whole military and civilian rest of the Dynamite Gang – or Blow Jobs, like a careless Private had dared to call the soldiers and civilians concerned with explosives in his vicinity. "Just make sure it's one of the darker corners, right. And don't leave any traceable marks. Wouldn't look too good if newly promoted Captain Cadman…"

She sticks out her tongue and nudges him with her bare foot. "You said it agahain."

Pretending he hasn't heard her, he simply catches her foot and puts it in his lap and simply continues: "If newly promoted Captain Cadman would lose her promotion because she had to show Rodney McKay what she thinks of his scientific achievements for the power supply of this city."

Smugly, she puts the other foot in his lap as well. "Huh, you just want to save yourself the trouble of having to read all the reports on that. But anyway, you didn't come here to see if I was really working for my paycheck, right?"

Ah, such a clever woman, his Captain. He gives her half-grin. "Mh, no. In fact… Even if it's not official yet, I thought I'd tell you that the I.O.A. have approved of our proposal. They loosened less rules than we suggested, but all in all… we're not doing something illegal anymore."

Her face lights up and the frustration at Rodney's endeavors evaporates, as she says: "Cool."

Mh. Considering how much irritation and frustration the whole thing has caused both of them, "Cool." is not really what he has expected. But then again… "Yeah, that's what Sheppard said, too."

She rolls her eyes, probably because she's already guessed how he feels about her rather monosyllabic response. "So… what are the details?"

Originally, he'd came down to tell her that they are officially allowed to share quarters now and had wanted to suggest that they apply for new, bigger quarters, but suddenly he gets a little afraid of his own courage, maybe because a little niggling voice inside of him is fretting about her very simple answer. "Patience, young _padawan_. There will be a memo from Sheppard and Woolsey tomorrow."

"A Sheppard memo? Yay!" He raises his eyebrows as if to say "You were saying?", and she actually blushes a little and adds a little sheepishly: "Uh… Sheppard's memos are by far the best?"

Let's see if we can get a little more of that blush, he thinks. "Ah, so _my_ memos are…"

"Professional. Uh… yeah. Very… professional." He just _bets_ she wanted to say "boring", but he has to give her credit for caring enough about his ego to find at least an euphemism.

But he doesn't want her to get away so easily with putting Sheppard's memos above his own. With a mocked frown, he asks: "Why does that sound like an insult now?"

She makes a pitying face and pushes her own chair so near to him that she can run her hand through his hair. "Don't wrack your pretty head over it, farm boy." With that she caresses his cheek and then pats it.

He catches her hand and makes a disapproving face: "Hate to say it, Buttercup, but that's _still_ a no-no."

Now she's pouting. "Ah, but _you_ kissing _me_ in _my_ lab is allowed?"

Defeated he raises his hands. "Guilty as charged. Now… stop working? It's been a hell of a day, and it's going to be one tomorrow, too."

He hopes she just complies, but it simply wouldn't be her if she didn't voice her suspicions as to what caused him _his_ frustration. The pout is gone, and she's genuinely worried now. "Simmons still bugging you?" He sighs. He hasn't told her much about his difficulties with Lieutenant Simmons, but she's not dumb and she's always been able to read him well. Additionally, he wouldn't be surprised if she hasn't already somehow wheedled it out of Will Meyers. Or maybe wheedled it out of Meyers' newly arrived _wife_.

But he has this feeling that he shouldn't talk too much about this because she'll just get worked up about this, and he really wants a _quiet_ evening today. "He'll come around. Just give the kid a little time." Personally, he's not so sure about that. After rescuing Laura from that ex-Genii he had indeed offered individual talks to both Simmons and McPherson. The Sergeant had taken up the offer after a little hesitation, but the Lieutenant had simply declined with that distanced, stiff-necked way of his that is so often typical of officers straight out of OCS or the Academy. Ever since then, Simmons has not been exactly insolent or disobeying, but the Lieutenant still managed to give him the feeling that he has little to no respect for his CO. And he is slowly starting to run out of ways to get access to this young, promising officer. Short of grabbing him, dragging him to the work-out room and simply battle it out with him, there's not much more he can think of.

Laura looks a little like she wants to be blunt and tell him what exactly she thinks the kid deserves instead of time, but then she only throws a look back to the screen, takes her feet off his lap and shuts down the laptop. "You're his CO, you should know." Did that sound a little like "But don't come whining to me when he _doesn't_ come around."? Or maybe more like "Still doesn't mean _I_ am not allowed to give him an earful."? Nah, he just imagined that. _Both_ of that. "Anyway… there, I called it a night. Happy?"

"Absolutely." Glad he didn't have to confront her rather head-strong and impulsive side tonight, he gets up and waits for her to gather up her stuff. Probably it's really better to let the whole changing-quarters-thing rest for tonight and simply enjoy the first quiet evening they have in weeks. He can still ask her tomorrow.


	2. One

**One**

Still feeling like a cat that just discovered a jug of cream, she enters the mess hall. It astonishs her a little, since usually 0700 in the morning is _not_ her time. But there really is something about just knowing that you don't have to choose between your career and your heart anymore – at least not for the time being – that even brightens up the morning to you.

Grabbing a tablet, she spots Will Meyers sharing a table with Sergeant McPherson and sets off to join them, hoping McPherson won't mind. At first the Sergeant had seemed a little wary of her, keeping his distance and giving her a cool and professional attitude, but over the last few weeks he seemed to have finally warmed up to her, probably because he has simply accepted that he wouldn't get rid of her in that practical way so many Sergeants seem to be prone to.

But suddenly, someone brushes past her and snatches away the chair she'd set her eyes on. Her first impulse is to call the offender something pretty rude, but then she realizes who it was that ruined her mood and she gets an idea. Catching Meyers' eyes she positions herself behind Lieutenant Simmons and gestures for Meyers to pretend he doesn't see her. To her surprise, McPherson obviously also decided to refrain from giving Simmons a hint as to who is standing behind him. For someone who always gave her the impression that he didn't want to take sides, that was a pretty bold move.

"You know, I didn't see Major "UCMJ doesn't apply to me" the whole day yesterday. Wonder if he was screwing around with that red hot Lieutenant of his again." Mh. _That_ could be a clue to McPherson's decision, she thinks. Obviously, it's not the first remark in that direction Simmons makes at them. Maybe McPherson has decided to keep his opinion on Evan and her to himself and not let it interfere with how he behaves towards her, but she's positive that he does _not_ approve of a Lieutenant who's still wet behind the ears insulting their CO like this. Let's see how this plays out.

"Actually, it's a red hot _Captain_, sir.", Meyers matter-of-factly reminds the Lieutenant, and she gives him a look that says "Thanks for pointing that out, Sergeant."

Simmons, however, doesn't seem too impressed about it. He snorts. "That's _not_ making it any better. Honestly, it's no wonder that woman got promoted only a few months after starting to sleep with…"

Before she can step in, Meyers clears his throat. "Uh, with all due respect… you might want to hold that thought, sir…" She understands that Meyers, who isn't really fond of Simmons but probably shares Evan's opinion that the Lieutenant simply needs to weather out a little, just wanted to save Simmons from himself, but she has to step in now, if only because McPherson is still there and has to see that she doesn't tolerate insolence of this scale and simply _has_ to interfere. As she moves to claim the remaining chair, Meyers just utters "Nope, too late."

Simmons wants to say something, but she cuts him short, asking cheerfully: "Hey guys, mind if I sit down?"

Giving her a genuine smile, Meyers doesn't give Simmons a chance to decline and says: "We'd be honored if you did, ma'am."

Determined to make Simmons wonder how long exactly she's been standing there and give him enough time to develop something of a bad consciousness, she doesn't acknowledge him, but answers Meyers: "Aw, that's so nice of you, Sergeant." With that, she turns back to Simmons, who looks like he can't decide between looking ready to go off on her or ready to bolt. Good. For something like that, he _should_ be _very_ afraid of her. And to increase his confusion, she decides to keep perfectly nice, while going in for the kill. "Close your mouth again, Simmons. Sergeant Meyers here has only developed a soft spot for lovesick officers."

It's amazing. She can see exactly when her words hit home and when exactly he realizes that there's nothing stopping her from radioing his CO right here and now and tell him something that could probably end his career before it even began. He doesn't know that she's not the tattletale kind of girl and rather prefers to solve such things on her own… but there's no chance in hell she'll already tell him that. No, she wants to see him suffer, because this is maybe the only way to get him to stop spouting stuff like this around about Evan, her, Colonel Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon, McKay... And to stop him from ruining his own career with that. Meyers seems to have seen it as well and only offers a non-committing: "Your words, ma'am, not mine."

"Of course, Sergeant. Now, guys… I hear you've got a mission ahead of you, today?" She expects Simmons to answer now, but it's McPherson who does her the honor.

"Affirmative, ma'am. Major Lorne said we are to accompany Colonel Sheppard's team on a first contact mission. Seemed to be quite important." She suspects that McPherson spoke up because he thinks that Simmons hasn't calmed down enough and might have said something not nice. God, she really hopes that some day – and preferably some day _soon_ – Simmons will learn to appreciate the lengths these two Sergeants go to save him from doing very stupid things.

"Aren't they all. You know, I envy you."

"What, because we get to be in the presence of the guy who single-handedly defied the UCMJ?" This time, neither Meyers nor McPherson were fast enough to keep Simmons from being an idiot. Obviously, the day where he realizes that they are actually _helping_ him is still very far away.

Setting down her knife, she turns to him. With an edge that already promises him a lot of trouble to her otherwise still friendly voice, she replies: "No, because you actually get to go off-world. I'll just overlook your rather unfortunate choice of words, because obviously up to now the people around you have failed to tell you that going off-world is a privilege, and going off-world with Major Lorne is considered an _honor_ around here." There. Now the cards are on the table. Let's see if he gets what he's supposed to do now.

"People seem to have a pretty warped idea of the concept of honor around here." Nope, didn't get it. Alright, time to move the discussion to another place, because as much as she'd like to humiliate the Lieutenant in front of the two Sergeants that are still his subordinates, she also knows that doing this would make her own reputation sink in the eyes of said Sergeants.

"I think it's better if we continue this discussion somewhere a little more private." And be _thankful for it_, she thinks.

"Hey, I don't mind…" No, that's _not_ thankful.

Time for the big guns. "I wasn't making a suggestion, _Lieutenant_." In the corner of her eyes, she catches McPherson's face and sees approval as well as just a little hint of surprise on it. Well, about time she shows them that even she has a line where she stops being nice and funny Laura and becomes formal respect-demanding Captain Cadman.

And just for once Simmons actually does the right thing and gets up to heed her order. Obviously some part of his brain registered that he was straight on the road to at least a reprimand here and told him that insubordination probably wasn't such a good idea now. She wants to get up as well, but before she can lead Simmons out of the mess hall, Meyers clears his throat. "Permission for a word in private, ma'am?" Seems like he's got something important on his mind. Mh.

"Alright. Lieutenant, you wait here. I think I don't have to tell you how unwise it would be _not_ to wait." With a stoic face and a stiff back, Simmons acknowledges her order and sits down again. McPherson, obviously not willing to get caught between a rock and a hard place excuses himself and turns tail as fast as he can. With a jerk of her head, she gestures Meyers to follow her out of the mess hall.

When they are just out of the door, they come to stand in a secluded corner from where she can still monitor the mess hall's door, just in case Simmons decides to be stupid again. She nods to Meyers. "Okay… what is it?"

For a moment, he rubs his neck, as if he wants to stall because he isn't sure if he can actually tell her what he wanted to say. Inwardly she makes a face. Honestly… that guy is the last one who should be afraid to ask her something. "One… no, two things, ma'am. First one… could you… could you have an eye on Jessi, while we're gone? I know it's supposed to be a short mission and totally safe… but you know what the means." Yep. _Everything_ can happen.

She smiles reassuringly. "Sure." The relief that shows in Meyers' face is touching.

"Thanks. I really hope it's not much of a bother to you and…" She holds up her hand. It's definitely _not_ a bother. A week ago Meyers' wife had arrived here, totally in awe of the city and its inhabitants. Although Jessica Meyers is so very different from her – shy, quiet, modest – she has taken a likening to the nurse. The moment she had met her the first time, she had started to take her under her wings and introduce her to her own circle of Atlantis friends. She suspects that Evan has already warned Meyers that soon he might have to deal with a whole armada of Atlantis women if he so much as teases his wife a little too intensely.

"It's not, Sergeant. I know how the first few weeks here are. I might be cooped up in my lab, but there's also Captain Reece, Dr. Ochovskaya… We'll take care of her." She even goes as far as clapping his shoulder.

"I have no doubt about that." He flashes her a grin, and it makes her wonder not for the first time how two people so very different from each other like Will and Jessica Meyers could have ended up together.

She nods. "Mh, thanks for the vote of confidence, Sergeant. What was the second thing you wanted to talk to me about?"

This time, Meyers takes a deep breath, and it already tells her that he is about to tell her something she might not like. "Ma'am… don't be too hard on Lieutenant Simmons." Ah. Well… she should have expected that. "I know he's not been exactly… uh… cooperative and he's… giving all of us headaches, most of all the boss, but… he's just a kid. He just doesn't know the boss and you like I do, and he's under a lot of strain. Just needs a little time to get used to everything here."

She wishes it was like that. But the way the Lieutenant just went off on her – a Captain, for Heaven's sake – tells her that his problem goes deeper than just needing time to adjust. And additionally, Simmons had more than two months time to get settled here. "Probably. But you do realize that I can't let him walk around and practically tell everyone who does or doesn't want to hear it that he thinks I'm sleeping my way up the chain of command, right?"

Meyers nods, looking very uncomfortable. As if he knows she's right, but doesn't want her to get in the line of fire. "Yes, I do. I'm just saying… maybe you should let the boss handle it."

She understands him. He thinks that she shouldn't get involved with this, but she can't back down now, and not only because the Lieutenant has insulted her. "Sergeant, if the boss learns that Simmons practically considers me a whore and him the john, that kid is _dead_. D – E – A – D. What I'm doing now is trying to _protect_ him from himself."

"Alright. But _you_ know how the boss thinks about you handling his job, right?" Well… Meyers _really_ knows them well. Even better than she thought he does.

She knows she could simply order him to let this lie and mind his own business. But they're not standing in front of a line of Marines and that's also not how you treat friends. "I do. Just… let _me_ worry about that, alright? Just promise me not to tell the Major anything about this. This is something between Simmons and me. I promise I won't let the Major get off on you in case it goes FUBAR."

He still doesn't look happy. But in the end, he agrees, although a little unwilling. "Alright… agreed. But it's a promise, right?"

Grateful that he promised not to go straight to Evan with this – and she knows what it's costing him – she gives him a thankful smile and says: "Yes, it is. Now finish breakfast. You need to be strong and healthy for yet another day in outer space. Oh, and send Simmons out to me." With a casual salute, he acknowledges her order and then reenters the mess hall.

**A/N: **Seems like a certain Lieutenant is really getting himself into trouble... actually, I enjoyed writing the officer part of Laura's personality, because we really haven't seen much of that yet.

BTW, this chapter was also betaed by **mac**. I hope it's okay with **Asugar**, who offered to beta as well. But, as I see it, she is doing a fantastic job with **Eva**'s "Coming back home" and I simply didn't want to distract her too much from that. I really enjoy your reviews, Asugar, which are already helping a lot :)


	3. Two

**Two**

A few moments after Meyers went back into the mess hall, Simmons appears in the doorway, and she could have sworn that he was deliberately taking his time to get out. She forces herself not to comment on it. As he spots her, there's a barely concealed sleazy grin on his face, and she already hates the sight of it, because for some reason… it just doesn't suit him. Like he wants to impersonate someone he isn't. "Well… you want to take me somewhere more "private"?"

Stay calm, stay professional, she forcefully reminds herself. "Come along, Lieutenant."

She leads him to a balcony only a few feet away from the mess hall. In moments like these she wishes she had an office. Her lab and her quarters are both out of question, because the first one is too crowded and the second one to secluded, so she chose the only other option. When they are out in the open, she speaks up again. "Lieutenant… do you have anything to say about what just happened in the mess hall?"

He snorts. "I gave you a piece of my mind?"

Well… this is obviously _not_ going to be easy. "That's one way to put it. Another would be voicing unjustified accusations about an officer that outranks you, insolence and trying to destroy the integrity of your team."

For a moment, it looks like he's starting to doubt his actions, but then he's probably decided that he's already in way too deep and that his only option is continuing his course. "There _is_ no integrity in my team. There's just a CO who's being not exactly a role model and three other soldiers not being lead a bit." He simply doesn't get it.

"No, there's one Lieutenant who doesn't _want_ to be lead. What's your problem, Simmons? God, you've got one of the best team leaders we have here and…"

"What's my problem? What's my _problem_? That guy who's supposed to be "one of the best team leaders" is my _problem_. I don't see any of his so called qualities. I just see him parading around, like he owns the goddamn planet and…" Gah. She's had it now.

Now all intent of staying professional, even sympathetic, with the guy is gone. She explodes. "Okay… that's it. I really tried to be nice, objective, sensible… I really thought I could talk to you on the basis of mutual understanding, from not-so-long Captain to Lieutenant, if you like, but you know what? I've had it. You don't know _shit_ about the people you've been spouting nonsense about."

Simmons wants to say something, but dammit, she's the senior officer here, and like hell she's going to let him get dirty again. "People here don't respect them out of nothing. Evan Lorne and John Sheppard are two of the best officers the USAF have to offer, and that's saying a lot coming from a jarhead like _me_. Teyla Emmagan is the best thing that could have happened to us in this galaxy. Carson Beckett is one of the kindest men and best doctors I know. Jennifer Keller is a very intelligent, very capable young woman. Ronon Dex is one of the fiercest and most loyal warriors I know. And, as much as I hate to admit it, Rodney McKay is a genius that saved all our hides here more times than I have fingers on my hand. If you _ever_ want to play in their league, you still have a _long_ way to go."

"Look, Cadman…" How _dare_ he!

"You will either address me with Captain or ma'am, Lieutenant." she frostily reminds him. It's the first time she ever has to pull rank like this, and the satisfaction in this case is _immense_.

And it shows immediate success. Simmons seems to get smaller, and when he answers her, his voice is sounding much more defensive than before. "Alright. Fine. Look, _Captain Cadman_… maybe Sheppard and Lorne are pretty good shooters, but face it: Discipline is running low here, Sergeants don't show proper respect to officers, there are inappropriate relationships of all kinds… it's only a question of time until everything falls to pieces here."

God, she thinks, how thick can one guy be? "Again: You don't know anything. This isn't boot camp here or the Academy. It's not even your run of the mill military base. It's a settlement, and people are _living_ here. Day in, day out, facing threats on a daily basis they don't even _know_ about at the Academy, working hard and having to cope with losses again and again. Forming relationships and cutting themselves slack sometimes are the _only_ reasons things are _not_ falling to pieces here."

The Lieutenant becomes agitated now. "Bullshit, _ma'am_. I saw my CO risk his life unnecessarily, nearly insult civilians that outrank him and fall apart right in front of my eyes. Just – because – of you. I don't see any reason to show him respect."

That _idiot_. Abandoning any thoughts of decorum now, she raises her voice as much as a female soldier can raise her voice without sounding ridiculous. "_D__on't_ you _dare_ go start insulting your CO. That man has been defending your planet and your _galaxy_ even before you got chosen for a spot at the Academy. That man would give his life for each and every one under his command. That man… that man suffers from every death that happens under his command. He feels responsible for everyone here, and he sacrifices nights, spare days and vacations to make everything here run smoothly. I have to compete with a whole _city_ for his attention and he has to get over his deeply ingrained sense of duty to put the whole city _behind_ him for me. Don't you think he deserves _some_ moments of falling apart?"

Alright, she knows that she probably shouldn't have told Simmons this, but she thinks she's starting to get what his problem is. The kid is just plain confused. He's straight out of the Academy, still used to drill and training and even more drill. The overload of coming to Atlantis which _never_ was that kind of military base the SGC was, probably just fried a few circuits in his head. "Certainly not on a mission."

She sighs. "You just don't get it, do you?"

"No. No, I don't. I don't get it why no one thinks it's suspicious that you start sleeping with your CO and after just a few months…" Hey! Being confused is still _no_ excuse for accusing her of whoring her way up the career ladder.

"Don't even _think_ of going there, for your own fucking safety. One more word in that direction and I'll officially put you on up charges. Honestly, I have _no_ idea how Evan can still put up with you. Consider yourself very, _very_ lucky that _he's_ your CO. God, you don't even deserve whatever goodwill he must still be harboring for you." Now the expression on the Lieutenant's face almost resembles a pout, which just serves to support her theory about having a confused frightened little boy in the body of an SF soldier in front of her.

"Maybe I don't _want_ his goodwill." She snorts.

"Oh yes, you do. Or at least you should. Because in case you haven't noticed yet: _He_'s the one who can make your life a living hell or give your career a boost that should last you for at least the next ten years, all depending on how you conduct yourself. Lieutenant, just to make this clear to you: If _anything_ of what you're spreading around about Evan actually gets to him _without_ being filtered, you're done for. He's a very, very patient and tolerant man, but the one thing he doesn't tolerate is people not showing other people the respect they deserve. I'm trying to save your fucking _ass_ here."

"I don't need this kind of doubletalk to…" God, why do strapping young officers always seems to think everyone is trying to imply they have no honor? And honestly, the way _this_ strapping young officer behaved the last couple of weeks, _really_ implying he has no honor would be just what he deserves. Why does she do this anyway?

Maybe… maybe because she starts to see something of herself in that guy. There'd been a time when even she hadn't been half as confident about what she could do and where she had felt the burning desire and the nearly oppressive need to prove the world and herself she _could_ survive boot camp. Taking a deep breath, she tries to lower her voice again. "Lieutenant, I'm not joking. If anything of this gets to him – for example when _he_ catches you in the act – you can say goodbye to your Wings and your Lieutenant's bars, and that only if you are lucky."

Again, Simmons wants to interrupt her, but _dammit_, she didn't get those Captain's bars for nothing. "Don't delude yourself: Evan already knows you have next to no respect for him. The only reasons he hasn't acted on it yet are that he believes in second chances and that your combat performance is spotless. But the moment he somehow learns exactly how you think not only about him but about _his_ CO and me and people _he_ has the highest respect for here, your combat performance won't matter anything to him. Be honest with yourself: Is it really worth it? Risking your career because you're too thickheaded to look behind your youthful prejudices?"

That gets him to shut up. For a prolonged amount of time. In fact, it shuts him up for so long that she's starting to get worried. When he finally decides to speak up again, he needs several attempts to say something aloud. "You… you've got point there, ma'am."

_Finally_ some reason. Whatever it was that got her point through this thick skull, she's thanking God and all the other Entities out there for it. "'Course I have. Now… you still think _you_ know everything about Evan Lorne?"

And now even a blush is creeping on the Lieutenant's cheeks, and it's suiting him much more than the sleazy grin from before, because it makes him appear as young as he really is. "Maybe… I was wrong concerning a few points."

She can't help looking little smug now. "You know, it's not too late to turn back from the Dark Side."

"You mean I can still be saved from becoming Darth Joe?" Sheepishly, he rubs his neck, but for just a short moment there's a typical flyboy grin showing through. Yeah, well, she thinks, let's see how long your strong dislike of what Evan and I'm doing holds up when the first nurses are starting to notice the grin… and you.

But she doesn't say it, only folds her arms in front of her chest and tries to stay matter of fact. "What I mean is that you can still save _yourself_ from becoming Darth Joe. All you have to do is stop being a conceited prick."

She half suspects some insolent answer or maybe a quip that's supposed to be charming, but to her surprise she simply gets: "Yes, ma'am."

A little unwilling, she nods. "Good answer, Lieutenant. And by the way: I'd advise you to be discreet about this little conversation. It's _your_ ass that's at stake here."

Simmons simply nods, now obviously having finally seen what he was doing to himself and his career. And seeing that she just let him off the hook way easier than he deserves. "I understand, ma'am."

"I hope so. Because if you haven't, you'll find yourself in court-martial for insolence faster than you can spell "dishonorable discharge". I'm not joking." She really isn't. He's damn lucky that he has _Evan_ as his CO, and he's also damn lucky that he reminds her of herself, back in the days when she couldn't tell top from bottom because not even being the daughter of a Marine and niece of another two could have prepared her for the harsh reality of Marine boot camp. If he's got _any_ brain in that head of his, he knows very well that he doesn't deserve what she just did for him until he has proven himself.

"And I didn't think you were." Good for him. She nods.

"Obviously, they didn't fry _all_ your brain cells at the Academy. And now get going. You're scheduled to leave in an hour. Dismissed." He throws her a very sharp salute and she's satisfied to see that it's a gesture of respect, not of mocking. When he's left the balcony, she turns to the ocean and leans on the railing. The only thing left now is trying to think up a way of explaining to Evan why she just chewed out his Lieutenant without him getting off on her for that.

--

**A/N: **The things political conventions are good for... some people do their taxes, some up-date their address books... and I implement my beta-reader's suggestions and get two chapters ready for uploading (and wrote the last installment to the "Defining Moments"-series, which is currently at **mac**'s for beta-reading ;)). We'll just all conviniently forget about the fact that I was a delegatee and therefore supposed to pay attention and listen to speeches and all that stuff instead of writing and playing around with PhotoShop.

Oh, and... I have a confession to make... after Joe M.'s recent rather unfortunately phrased "revelations" about the rest of Season 5 I kind of... got hit by a little bout of writer's block. I really hope I'll get over it as fast as I can, but please don't get mad at me if I need a little longer for the next chapters of "Show the world" and "A little change". I will not forget about this stories, I promise, I just might need a little more time to write down what I still have in my head. Hope it's okay with all of you.

Oooooh, and before I forget it: Yes, I know that Simmons was coming around a little too fast at the end, but trust me, I know what I'm doing ;)


	4. Three

**Three**

Mh. They're already halfway up to the rendezvous point and still Simmons hasn't put on his usual "I may look like I'm a model soldier, but deep down I don't give shit about your orders."-face. In fact, for the first time since rescuing Laura from Alton, it feels like the guy walking beside him hasn't put on _any_ mask at all. Only now he realizes why he always just knew that Simmons didn't give him any respect. Every time he'd looked at the Lieutenant, he'd seen the guy put on a mask, as if he himself didn't qualify for being allowed to see the real Simmons.

God, why do the sessions with Obanashi have to be compulsory? It feels like the shrink is starting to rub off on him. It's been three months since Alton took Laura and Keller hostage, and he's really over it. Honestly. Sure, the feeling of secretly wishing Laura would _stay_ in Atlantis and not go off-world again even though it means that he has to deal with her cabin fever at one point hasn't fully dissipated, but really… that's got nothing to do with the whole incident. And the fact that he still wakes up in the middle of the night just because he has to make sure that she's still there is absolutely normal as well. He used to do that even before she was taken hostage. Well… not as often, granted… but…

"By the way… congratulations, boss." A little startled, he looks beside him. Meyers has come up. He raises an eyebrow. "The new I.O.A.-rules." Ah, right. So at least _one_ of his team members had actually read the memo. And now he knows what else has been bugging him about Simmons: Not a word about this from the Lieutenant. He would have expected at least some aside or a one-liner, but… nothing. He looks to his other side, where Simmons just keeps on walking. There isn't even a look on his face that says "The only reason I don't bitch about this is that you're still the guy who can fire me." Inwardly shrugging he turns back to Meyers.

"Thanks, Sergeant. But the honor isn't mine alone. In fact… I was just the guy who dug through tons of paperwork. And not even that alone." Well, at least not the last part of it. He still remembers very vividly how Laura and he burned the midnight oil repeatedly and once or twice ended up throwing paper balls at each other in frustration… and once or twice… better not think about it now.

"Still… people owe you one." Well… people… and Will and Jessica Meyers. Living together in Atlantis would have been much more difficult if there hadn't been the new rules, even being married. In fact, the transfer had only been possible, because Mr. Woolsey had gone head to head with a few members of the I.O.A., convincing them that transferring a few spouses as a test run to see if having a stable relationship really posed such a threat to people's performance would be a good idea. If he ever figures out how to circumvent having to tell Woolsey that he overheard one of his conversations with Colonel Sheppard, he'll certainly thank Woolsey for taking this upon him for the Atlantis crew.

"No, they owe Mr. Woolsey and Colonel Sheppard." What… _still_ nothing from Simmons? What's the matter with the kid; he wonders and throws Meyers a look. The Sergeant understands immediately and simply shrugs his shoulders. Something's up with the kid and…

"_Who_ owes me and Mr. Woolsey?" Sheppard barges in, but before he can answer, Rodney beats him to it.

"All the lovebirds in Atlantis who now can come out of their dark corners." It does sound a little… grumpy. Someone got up on the wrong side of bed? Simmons seems to become a little uncomfortable, so he just signals him with a jerk of his head to fall back and join Teyla and McPherson at the rear of their group. The Lieutenant immediately obeys him.

Now it's Ronon's turn to speak up. "You're saying that just 'cause you don't have someone to share one of those dark corners with you." Personally… he agrees with that. And did the Keller-Dex-McKay-triangle perhaps come to a conclusion?

McKay, though, just gives a humorless little laugh. "Oh, and how would _you_ know, Tarzan?" Yep, sounds a lot like Dr. Keller finally made a decision, and _not_ in favor of Rodney McKay. As for himself, he has decided to keep out of this, because Ronon and Rodney are far better at providing entertainment on this rather long walk from the 'Gate to the rendezvous point than anything from him could possibly be.

"Common knowledge." Ouch.

Rodney doesn't seem too amused about this, either. "Hey, at least _I_ can…"

"You may want to wait with whatever you were about to say, Rodney, because there is our rendezvous point.", Teyla suddenly interrupts him with a voice that sounds just a tad irritated, and he wonders if something is bothering her. He should probably take her aside in a quiet moment and ask. But just not right now, because she's right.

In front of them, there's a little village consisting of houses built around a square, looking a little Celtic. The only thing standing out is a black obelisk in the middle. Three women are already waiting for them a few feet away from the village's borders, all clothed with dresses that look roughly medieval. Neither Ronon nor Teyla could tell them much about this planet, because neither of them has had much contact with the inhabitants before. All had been very brief exchanges, and so they don't really know what to expect.

As the women come to stand in front of them, they eye them warily. After a few seconds that they obviously need to reorient themselves, they… seem to ignore them and bow down and the one in the middle – a middle-aged dark-haired woman with quite a commanding presence – says: "Welcome to our village, _sirra_. I am Morigan and these are Khara and Oonagh." From where she's looking at, it's quite clear that she doesn't mean Sheppard. She means Teyla. Oookay…

Teyla, diplomatic as ever, manages to be faster than Sheppard and answers: "I thank you for your welcome. May I introduce my companions and myself to you?"

The leader just gives them another glance, looking a lot like sizing them up and then replies: "It is not custom among our people for a leader to introduce her escort, but please do so if you wish." Oh. Okay. Obviously… they just stumbled over a society where women are automatically supposed to be leaders. And did Sheppard just mumble: "Should have sent Teldy's team."?

Teyla has now taken a step forward, still trying to counter her opposite's sternness with friendliness and diplomacy. "Thank you very much for your kindness." The woman's demeanor doesn't change much. This certainly doesn't bode well. Automatically he changes his stance just a little, tightens the grip on his P90 just a little more… all the little things he does almost unconsciously when he has the feeling that something might go wrong.

Teyla now starts introducing every one of them, but when she mentions that Colonel Sheppard is their group's leader and will therefore conduct all talks and negotiations for them, Morigan says: "We will only do business with you. Our traditions and rules do not allow us any differently." At this Rodney immediately wants to barge in, but Sheppard is fast enough to stamp on his foot and shut him up. The expression on Rodney's face is funny enough that he has to look somewhere else immediately to keep up his usual mission face.

Which is why he registers the very brief wordless exchange between Teyla and Sheppard. After only a few seconds, Teyla turns back to Morigan and says in the tone of voice he recognizes as her means to calm down her opposite: "We respect this. I will, however, have to confer with Colonel Sheppard during our stay. We hope it will pose no problem for you to allow him to be present at all times." He's a little amazed – and a little envious – at how much Teyla and Sheppard obviously can communicate with just a short look and a nearly invisible nod. The only other people he has seen communicating like this with each other are Thomas Moore and Laura Greenspan, back in a different life. And recently Thomas Moore and Maureen Reece. Not even Laura and he know each other well enough to need so little effort to understand each other.

Their welcome committee, however, doesn't look exactly pleased, but in the end, all three of them nod their heads. Phew. He would have hated to abort this mission already. Rodney would have fretted and whined all the way back, because the sole reason for coming to this planet had been that he'd found something interesting in one of the Ancient data bases on Atlantis and had wanted to check it out.

He also hopes that they'll get done fast with this because he still doesn't see any real reason why Woolsey has ordered his team to go along with Sheppard's. He'd been told that after other teams' recent encounters of the unpleasant kind on planets they had as little information about as about this planet, even Sheppard had to take a back-up team with him, but honestly… these people might be not exactly warm and friendly – at least not yet – but they really don't look like they could pose a threat. But then again… Hamrash and his traders hadn't seemed like posing a threat either and still Laura nearly hadn't made it back from that mission, a little suspicious voice whispers in the back of his mind.

But anyway… they are finally being led into the village, which hopefully means that Rodney will get closer to discovering that Ancient device he's very obviously eager to find. Maybe that'll also keep him from throwing dagger looks in Ronon's direction. He hopes that Colonel Sheppard knows what's going on between Ronon and Rodney and has found a strategy to deal with it, because _he_ sure as hell wouldn't be able to tolerate such a friction in his team for long. Inwardly he sighs, because that brings him back to the fact that he still needs to find out what exactly is up with Simmons.

But not right now. Right now, he needs to keep his eyes open for possible trouble and on his own people. Both Simmons and McPherson aren't really used to strictly diplomatic and scientific missions yet and both look a tad too wound up… like two coiled springs ready to snap at any given moment. In the long run, that might lead to problems if one of the locals only so much as looks at them the wrong way at the wrong time. He knows that look quite well, having felt like this, on his own first few missions.

As they come to stand beside the obelisk in the middle of the village, he suddenly feels the familiar _tug_ he always feels with Ancient technology nearby. Back in Atlantis he's so used to it that most of the time he doesn't even register it, and when they encounter Ancient technology on missions it's usually inactive… but somewhere around here one of the Ancients' toys is sitting and active. He throws a short look towards Rodney who already looks like a Golden Retriever on Speed, and he's sure the scientist has snuck a look at his equipment, because only natural ATA gene carriers can sense Ancient technology. Or so he's been told.

And another look goes towards Sergeant McPherson, the only other ATA gene carrier on his team. He should have felt something, too, and for him it should be much more unfamiliar. But the Sergeant doesn't let on anything, just radiates off the kind of wired alertness he's always displaying on a mission.

While Teyla is getting a short introduction on the village, he's devoting part of his attention to the surroundings. All around the square, people are standing in little groups, eyeing them warily and whispering among themselves. He takes another look around… and realizes that most of the people standing around are women. The few men that he sees are hurrying from one house to another, obviously keen on being invisible… servants, obviously. Yep, definitely a matriarchal society they stumbled upon.

He checks on his people again. Meyers has acquired a stance that looks somewhat between relaxed and on guard, with the P90 clipped to his vest and his arms resting on it. McPherson looks as inscrutable as ever, and Simmons… Simons looks like he could use a break. That guy's totally wound up, like something is bothering him. He wants to sigh. Is he really that old that he starts lacking sympathy for officers fresh out of the Academy who never had to deal with real military life before? Or is he starting to let his personal dislike of certain parts of the Lieutenant's attitude get the better of him? He really should…

"Rodney!" What the…? Obviously, McKay couldn't contain his impatience anymore and has decided to start wandering around and scanning the area, totally ignoring the fact that he's supposed to do as the village's men are doing, and Sheppard has just hissed at him to stop it. Ronon even went so far as to step right in his way… and suddenly he sees Rodney stumbling backwards, tries to sidestep him with a suppressed curse and… bumps into something very solid. The last thing he consciously registers is feeling like just having been hit by a truck. Then merciful oblivion surrounds him.

* * *

**A/N: **Oops, cliffhanger... I didn't even realize that when writing it. But lucky for you, **mac** could already beta the next chapter :D So maybe you won't have to wait too long for it ;)


	5. Four

**Four**

There's one thing he really hates, and that's feeling like waking up with a major hangover although you know that you _definitely_ didn't have the fun part before that. Then at least it would have been worth the pounding headache and the nausea and the lack of memory how exactly he came about feeling this awful. He knows he was on a mission, so this isn't the consequence of having a little too much to drink, but he has no idea how else he could have ended up like this.

Speaking of being on a mission… he really should open his eyes, because whatever happened to him it couldn't have been good and it's quite possible that someone – most probably himself – could be in danger now. So as much as he doesn't want to, he cracks his eyes open and tries to sit up, which is directly answered with a nice bout of dizziness. He groans.

"Easy, boss. You might want to stay down for a little while longer." Ah, at least he's still got his medic.

He tries the thing with opening his eyes again. In the first moment, he's grateful that he must be somewhere with very dim light, because that spares him the usual piercing pain of bright light hitting his eyes after having been knocked out. But then his training takes over and he forces himself to switch to soldier. Trying to sit up again, he's fairly good at ignoring the dizziness and the nausea this time and even manages an annoyed undertone, when he asks his medic, "Where the hell am I?"

Meyers looks at him, and even in the dim light from the torches on the wall he can see that the Sergeant is doing his best to keep his face straight. "In hack, sir."

He groans. Not _again_. "What… _why_?"

"Well… seems like you touched something you aren't allowed to touch." Oh, great, at least it's not another hostage situation. Being a convict isn't exactly better, though. And he'd really like to know _why_ he's in prison.

"I… did _what_?" Mh. He's starting to sound like he _really_ took a hit to his head. Obviously Meyers is thinking the same, because he's having a hard time suppressing a smirk.

"Remember that obelisk in the middle of the square, sir?" Obelisk? Obe… oooh, right! Now the memories are coming back, somewhat dim, but clear enough that he remembers the tall black thing and how he stepped in its direction when he tried to get away from Rodney for some reason.

He groans again. "Aw, no. That took me out?"

Meyers nods. "Pretty much, yeah. And the locals – most of all the local _women_ – really didn't like that. You're lucky they're a peaceful society." Oh goody, so no death penalty probably. Or at least no death penalty without a trial.

"You mean…"

"Yep." Mh. He's really been spending too much time with the Sergeant if he has learned to read him this well.

He sighs. "So… what now?"

But before Meyers can answer, another voice barges in from the doorway. "You've got to marry."

He blinks and turns his head to see Colonel Sheppard sauntering towards the barred door of his cell. Is there a grin just waiting to spread over Sheppard's face? And… did he just hear the word "marry"? "I have to do _what_?"

"Marry." Yep, a smug grin tugging at the corners of Sheppard's mouth. What's so damn funny about this, huh? He already feels irritation coming up, and not only because of the headache that won't subside.

"Whoa, whoa, wait. You know, I might have hit my head or something. I honestly thought I just heard my CO telling me I have to marry to get out of jail." Mh… good thing Simmons isn't in the same room with them. He probably wouldn't understand the relationship between CO and 2IC and interpret his slightly sarcastic tone as insolence.

But _Sheppard_ knows him very well and isn't fazed by his irritation. He even seems to be amused by it. "Sorry to disappoint you. You might have hit your head, but I still just said that."

Holy… okay, so at least that means that the locals aren't already getting their knives, pitchforks and torches out. But he'd still like to know what this is all about. "Could someone _please_ just explain to me what the hell is going on here?"

Now Teyla comes to stand beside Colonel Sheppard, and he just has this feeling that she'd really like to give the Colonel a slap on his head for his barely contained glee at his own misfortune. He'd really love to see _that_, but instead Teyla is the first to really take mercy on him and explain what happened. "You had the unfortunate luck to accidentally stumble against the obelisk beside you when you tried to evade Rodney." Ah, finally someone to blame for his bad luck. "The obelisk you touched is the Ancient device Rodney has been searching for. Unfortunately, it is also holy to the population of this planet. Men are forbidden to touch it. We tried to explain that you did not touch it by design, but they… were not really willing to listen. According to their law, you have either to remain here and serve your sentence. Or a woman agrees to marry you, thereby making you her… responsibility and taking it onto herself to compensate the village's council for your trespassing." Uh… huh. Okay…

"Yeah, well, so what? We just ask some local girl to marry him and then we're done with it." Ah, Ronon. Always so wonderfully pragmatic. If Ronon hadn't voiced that suggestion, he would have. Granted, explaining that to Laura would be embarrassing as hell, and he'd have to live with merciless teasing for at least the next five years, but it would still be infinitely better than rotting away in a cell on planet where men aren't exactly seen as respectable beings.

But Teyla has to spoil that perfectly good plan. "Again unfortunately, that will not be possible. They insist that it has to be a woman from his own village." Everyone is suddenly looking at him, and they all have the same idea on their mind, he bets that.

"Oh come on, please don't tell me…"

Sheppard shrugs. "It's our best bet."

It's not fair. That he's practically living with Laura really doesn't mean that he's ready to marry her yet. Or well… not that he hasn't thought about this once or twice already, but he'd really wanted to take his time with it, see how it works when they're officially sharing quarters… they haven't even met each others' families yet. He also has this feeling that he really shouldn't rush things because Laura still has those tendencies to run away when someone tries to pressure her into something, even when she's working on it. And this whole thing – even if it's not a _real_ wedding – feels very much like scaring her off before he even got the chance to propose seriously. And besides, they already _have_ an Atlantis woman here. "But can't I just…"

Before he can even finish his suggestion, Sheppard cuts him short, probably knowing _exactly_ what he was about to propose, but obviously not even wanting to think about it. Mh. "Don't worry, you don't have to come up with an ingenious proposal. I'll just order her to."

Oh great, thanks for suggesting that there's no there's no other way to get Laura to marry him than to order her to, he thinks a little disgruntled. "Yeah, she'll _love_ that."

He's expecting some sarcastic reply, but it never comes. Instead, Sheppard only gives him a somewhat thoughtful look and says: "Maybe she'll surprise us all." What… is _that_ supposed to mean? But he doesn't get to ask Sheppard, since the Colonel is back at his usual CO bearing. "Anyway… Meyers, you give the Major a check-up and I'll take McPherson back to the 'Gate with me to collect Cadman from Atlantis. Until I'm back, Teyla's in command. Behave yourselves, boys; I don't want to have to find a bride for anyone else." Ha, ha, very funny.

With that, Sheppard leaves the prison again, and Ronon follows him outside, hopefully to keep Rodney away from anything that could increase their mess. That leaves Teyla and Meyers. The Sergeant starts to heed Sheppard's order, going through his usual check-up routine. While Meyers is at it, Teyla gives him a mischievous smile and says: "I am sorry to have to leave you as well, but I have to go and tell Morigan of your decision. I expect you will have a wedding according to their traditions, and someone has to go over the details beforehand." Oh no, not Teyla as well. Up to now he'd had the feeling that she was the only one _not_ finding this funny, but the words and the smile tell a different story.

He feels seriously betrayed now, and so his only answer is: "Knock yourself out." Obviously something in his tone or voice was funny again, because Teyla even laughs a little.

With a simple "Gladly, Evan.", she's out of the prison as well. By now, Meyers has finished his quick examination.

"Well… according to my readings, you're perfectly fine, sir. The only effects the blast had on you are those of a hangover that will be gone in a few hours." Ah, thanks for simply doing your job, Sergeant. "Just in time for a bachelor bash and some stuff actually _worth_ a hangover." He gives Meyers a death glare. Traitors, the whole lot of them.

"You're dismissed, Sergeant." he says and if he wasn't still suffering from the aftereffects of the energy blast, that would even have sounded icy.

Meyers pretends to be rueful and replies with a perfect: "As ordered, sir." Then he walks up to the cell's door, calls out for a guard and is let out. For a split second, he'd thought about using that moment to simply fight his way out of here, but then it occurred to him that Rodney would be mighty miffed at him if he spoilt his fun with the Ancient device and that the last thing he wants to deal with is Rodney is a snit and so he just sits back and closes his eyes again. Might as well use the time until Laura arrives with sleeping off the headache.

--

**A/N: **Tada! Poor Lorne. What a terrible fate :D Anyone want to rescue him from that? (**mac** already offered after beta-reading... anyone else? :D)


	6. Five

**Five**

"Hey, mind if we sit down?" She looks up and finds Maureen Reece and Major Moore standing in front of their table and throws a look to Jessica Meyers, up to this point the only one sharing the table with her. For a moment, she looks like shaking her head no – she knows Maureen, but up to now she didn't have much to do with Moore, who can be quite intimidating when you don't know him well enough – but then she just nods.

That's enough for the couple and they sit down. As they start to eat, Moore says: "Any of you read the last Sheppard-memo? About damn time, I'd say."

"Tom!" She has to grin a little at Maureen's slightly reproachful face at Moore's rather blunt comment. He grins back at her and shrugs his shoulders.

"What? It's true." With that, he picks one of her tomatoes with his fork and eats it, still grinning while Maureen just rolls her eyes as if to say "Men. They grow up until they're seven and then they only grow." It's amazing, she thinks, how much both of them have changed. Or rather how the way they treat each other has changed. Evan had told her that they were already teammates back at the SGC, in the year before the Atlantis Expedition took off, but that their working relationship used to be a little… strained, at least for the first few months.

"It was still an unusual request. And it's through now. Stop fretting." Huh. Maureen Reece telling Moore to shut up in public… how things can change.

"Anyway… you read it, Cadman? Probably not, seeing as you're closer to the source than I am." At that, Maureen gives him a light shove to the shoulder. "Hey, would you please stop doing that in public? I have a reputation to lose." Oh yeah, the reputation of being a demanding son of a bitch and insensitive prick. The look on Maureen's face says exactly that, but she's sure that her fellow Marine knows a totally different side of Thomas Moore, like she knows a totally different side of Evan Lorne. Maureen simply wouldn't put up with him if that wasn't the case.

But he's asked her something. "As a matter of fact, I have. Not reading a Sheppard memo would be a sacrilege." At that, both of her fellow officers nod with a knowing glint in their eyes, but Jessica looks a little puzzled.

"Excuse me… but what's so special about Colonel Sheppard's memos? I mean, I know what this is all about… but I didn't get to read it yet." She wants to answer her, but Maureen beats her to it.

"Colonel Sheppard has… a certain way with words. Hey, uh, anyone here got the memo?" Yep, she does. It's a little embarrassing to admit it, but this is just too wonderful not to be printed out and discreetly hung up in her corner of the lab. Without a comment, she puts the slip of paper on the table. A grin spreads over both Maureen's and Moore's faces.

"_Not_ a word from either of you." Then she turns to Jessica, who thankfully hasn't known her as long as the other two and only knows the bits and pieces Meyers and she have told her about the story between Evan and her. "This is a really nice example of how _not_ to write a military memo. But at least the people read them."

Moore snorts. "As opposed to whose memos? Major Lorne's?"

She's just this short of sticking out her tongue. "Just wait until he's back. He'll be really happy to hear what his _subordinates_ think about the quality of his memos." She just conveniently forgets that only yesterday she had to euphemize as not to hurt Evan's fragile ego too much with telling him that his memos lack a certain amount of… esprit. It's not that he's a bad writer – in fact, she loved his letters – it's just that he takes his job very seriously.

"What, you're going to tell on me? My, my, Cadman, never knew you were _that_ kind of soldier." She rolls her eyes. But at least with Moore she knows all his taunting isn't meant in a mean way, contrary to certain _other_ soldiers. They had a few rocky encounters, mostly when things between him and Maureen hadn't been exactly great and she always automatically took Maureen's side, but she knows Evan values him as a friend, and for a reason.

"If you want me to." But anyway, Jessica still deserves an answer to her question, so she takes the slip of paper again. "Anyway, here's my favorite part: _And after the rather uninteresting and dull introduction – Mr. Woolsey insists on telling you that it is there for a reason and should be met with the respect and attention it deserves – I give you now the_ really _interesting news. From now on, all the secret star-crossed lovers – Mr. Woolsey wants to add that he does_ not _approve of this rather casual term – among the population of this city have permission to come out of their hiding places. Please contact your immediate superiors and inform them of your current relationship status. As of now, they are not allowed to fire you on the spot for this anymore. That is, if you can keep your hands off each other long enough not to make out right under their noses. Please keep _this_ to your quarters. For further information, please read the attached I.O.A. document that tells you in detail what has been changed into what. If you have any questions regarding this memo, please feel free to contact __either Mr. Woolsey__, Major Lorne or myself. We are, however, _not _responsible for marriage and couple counseling. This is still Dr. Obanashi's job._"

All around the table laughter and snorts can be heard, and even Jessica shows a smile that's a little brighter then the usual faint, shy smile she displays in public places. Yep, she really loves that part. "Well…" Moore says after the amusement has subsided a little, "that should put a damper on that new kid on Lorne's team." Ah yes, Lieutenant Simmons. All of them – even Jessica – have had a few unpleasant encounters with him, but she still harbors the hope that her little tongue-lashing this morning brought him to his senses.

"You know… as much as I hate his attitude… from his point of view, he's right." All of them turn to Maureen. Huh. "Hey, don't look at me like that. Think like this: He's straight out of the Academy, and the first permanent posting he gets is so totally different from what he expected and was told military life was like… in his mind, none of this here makes any sense." Yes, that's what's been on her mind as well, but only now it occurs to her that in a way Maureen is the one who can probably sympathize best with him, because from what she told her, her first months at the SGC were exactly like this to her, at least partly because of Major Moore.

"I… agree with the Captain." Oh. That's… a little surprising. All their eyes are on Jessica now, and the nurse turns a slight shade of pink. Maureen wants to say something, probably to tell her to drop the "Captain", but Jessica isn't done yet. "Coming here is so… confusing. I mean, you get lost all the time and there are so many new people… well, and all the strange technology. It's quite… overwhelming. Maybe the Lieutenant just needs a way to cope with all of that."

She's just waiting for Moore to scare Jessica away with one of his gruff remarks, but to her surprise all he says is: "Maybe. Oh, hey… speaking of that kid… I think I noticed something you might really like to hear." Curious gazes all around the table, and he leans back, obviously enjoying being in the center of their attention. Bastard. "I've been giving some IT lessons for the new personnel, and I could just _bet_ that one of the new techies has got the hots for our Lieutenant. Should have seen the way she looked at him over the rim of her monitor."

She shrugs. Yeah, well, it was only a question of time until the female – and maybe a part of the male – population of this city started to notice the Lieutenant. "Poor thing. She's set her eyes on the wrong guy. He'll never notice her with that blockhead of his." She throws Maureen a look and the other Marine seems to think the same thing. So… case closed.

But obviously Moore has other ideas. He leans forward again, gesturing with his raised index finger. "Ah, but that's the thing: He _does_ notice her. You know, I was telling them about some of the computer security measures here and all he did was stare at her when he thought she wasn't looking. I even had to practically hit him over the head to get his attention back. Figuratively speaking, I mean." Argh. She wishes she had known that when she chewed him out on the balcony. _That_ would have been one hell of blackmail material.

"Aw, come on, Tom that really sounds like you're…"

"Captain Cadman, come in." A little unnerved, she taps her earpiece. And what's even more unnerving is the slight lurch of her stomach, because that's Amelia Banks' voice and the Control Room calling is nearly never a good thing when one of them is on a mission.

"What is it, Banks?" Please don't let it be Evan, she thinks, like every time and wishes she could stop that train of thought at least for once.

"Well… we have a situation with Major Lorne's team. Please come to the Control Room immediately." Oh crap. Ohcrapohcrapohcrap. Not Evan. It's not Evan. Nothing happened. Everything okay. It's something else. It's _not_ Evan. Trying to keep up her façade, she gets up and excuses herself, but at least Maureen must have seen the slight slipping of her mask, because she gives her short encouraging look.

As she throws Jessica a look, she realizes that she should probably offer her to tag along to see if this is about _Meyers_, and so she just raises her eyebrows. Jessica gets what this is about pretty fast and after a moment of hesitation – sometimes ignorance can be a very blissful thing… and there are some things you simply can't bear to see as a wife, not even when you're a nurse – she nods and excuses herself as well.

As they make their way to the Control Room, she finds herself saying to Jessica, "Don't worry. The Sergeant has a really uncanny way of keeping himself out of trouble. It'll be okay." She hopes Meyers has told his wife not even half of all the things that have happened in the last few months. For example the fact that if he had listened to her back in that compound, he wouldn't even be alive anymore.

"I hope so. But… I… you know, I thought coming here would make everything easier, because I _knew_ what he was doing, but…" But knowing what he's facing out there is actually worse than not knowing. She forces herself to keep up the cheerful and optimistic façade.

"Hey, look at it like this: Now you know that he's got one of the best COs he could have – someone who really takes care of his subordinates. He's in good hands." Jessica tries to give her a brave smile, but she knows what's going through her head. Only two days after she'd arrived here and reported for duty the first time, one of the science teams had had an unpleasant encounter with another one of Michael's experiments which had led to lots of serious work for the infirmary. All of them had survived, but… it hadn't been a pretty sight to see, even for experienced medical personnel.

She wants to add another encouragement, just for good measure, but they're in the Control Room now. Banks just gestures for her to go down to the ramp. There Colonel Sheppard and Sergeant McPherson are waiting. Immediately she searches their faces for any hint as to how bad it really is, but all she gets… is a nearly impenetrable wall of professional seriousness with just the bare _hint_ of a smirk on McPherson's face and barely concealed glee on the Colonel's face. What the hell… is going on here?

"Care for a little off-world trip, Cadman?" She turns around to Jessica who came to stand at the foot of the stairs, but the nurse just makes a totally clueless face and stays where she is. She turns back.

"Well… depends on what I'm expected to do, sir." At that, Sheppard can't contain his amusement anymore. But at least that tells her that nothing _really_ bad happened to him. Still… she feels a little stupid now for all the worry and the anxiety.

"Bail your boyfriend out of jail." What the…? She folds her arm in front of her chest.

"Alright… what did he get himself into now?" She's sure that by now at least half the Control Room is secretly or openly watching them and trying to get what they're talking about.

So she isn't really surprised that Sheppard simply replies: "I'll tell you while you gear up." Okay… she obviously doesn't have much choice in this. But at least he explains to her how Evan came to be imprisoned in an alien village. When they arrive at the locker room, Sheppard is done with explaining to her the whole incident with the obelisk, and already she's just waiting for Rodney to fall into her hands. Honestly, couldn't he have shown at least a _bit_ of patience, just for once?

She sighs. "And what am _I_ supposed to do?"

Obviously that's the question Sheppard wanted her to ask the whole time because he's just so eager for answering it. "Marry him."

Huh. She's sure he just made a joke, but he's actually quite straight-faced right now. "Uh… come again, sir?"

Now Sheppard rolls his eyes, and she has this inkling that Evan's reaction must have been about the same as hers. "You have to marry your boyfriend in order to get him out of jail. And I promised him I'd order you to if you can't bring yourself to agree."

"Oh, I'm sure he just _loved_ that." Honestly, telling a guy you intend to _order_ his girlfriend to marry him, because you already anticipate that she'll say no? That really serves to boost his self-confidence.

But Sheppard just smirks. "I'm sure he'll love _everything_ that gets him out of that cell."

She really hopes Sheppard _knows_ that he's not doing himself a favor, because he just managed to tease _her _as well. "Thanks, sir. That's certainly the right way to convince someone to get married."

Sheppard answers her a little more seriously, "If it helps you: Mr. Woolsey has already assured me that this ceremony will not be legally binding in any way." Ah, well, that's good. Isn't it?

She frowns and grumbles, "Still feels a lot like a shot-gun wedding, sir." Okay… maybe that wasn't a very clever thing to say, because Sheppard _does_ have a P90 clipped to his vest.

The Colonel obviously didn't miss this either and simply replies: "I never said it wasn't." Bastard. He's _enjoying_ this. "Now, get packed and meet the Sergeant and me in the Control Room. You have 10 minutes."

That was clearly an order, but she can't refrain from displaying a pout and saying: "What, I don't get time to find a dress and make-up?"

Sheppard sighs a little. "I just have this feeling that the bridegroom would take you even if you were wearing a potato sack."

Oh, yeah, great, just what she wanted to hear. "Because he's that desperate?"

"Because it's _you_ who's wearing the potato sack." Oh. That… manages to catch her off-guard. Not necessarily because of whom it came from, but more because of how it was said. Underneath the seemingly casual tone, there was something… more serious. Like Sheppard knows very well how much Evan and she mean to each other, and like he… is amazed about that.

She turns away from him to hide her blush and starts getting her off-world gear together. To hide her sudden discomfort, she replies maybe a tad too gruffly, "Thanks, sir. I'll start packing right away."

Thankfully, Sheppard seems to have seen that his last remark threw her a little off-course and simply says: "We'll be in the Control Room."

She turns around to Sheppard and McPherson again expecting them to leave, but when Sheppard is out the room, the Sergeant suddenly speaks up: "Don't worry, ma'am. I'm sure you'll enjoy married life. _I_ did. Well, at least until my divorce two years ago."

Wha… That's something she would have expected from Meyers – or maybe not exactly, considering that he's happily married to his little nurse – but not from the tightlipped McPherson who barely spoke more than two words with her up to now. But, okay, he doesn't have the usual playful and casual undertone Meyers likes to adopt, but something a little darker… more cynical. She looks at him with a disgruntled face. "Gee, _thanks_, Sergeant, for that one. I feel so very much encouraged now."

"You're welcome, ma'am.", he answers her matter-of-factly, but then surprises her again with saying in a tone much more earnest than before, "Anyway… you and the Major will do just fine."

At that, she has to return an unwilling half-smile. "Let's all hope so. See you in the Control Room, Sergeant." He nods, tips his forehead in a casual salute and leaves the locker room to follow Colonel Sheppard. A little confused, she starts gearing up her vest. First off, McPherson's behavior just really baffled her. But maybe he really just needed some time to warm up to her… and well; it would make sense if you remembered the little scene in the mess hall this morning.

But then of course there's the much bigger issue of marrying Evan. Marrying Evan…okay, not for _real_, but this whole issue suddenly makes her think about the future of their relationship. Yes, maybe she has had the fleeting thought of asking him, some unspecific day in the future, and even had this one moment where she actually had tried out how her and his name combined would sound to her… but all of this had been nothing more than abstract mind games, nothing serious.

"Laura?" A little startled, she turns around to see Jessica Meyers stand in the locker room's doorway, leaning against the doorframe hugging herself. "What's going on here?" Dammit, she nearly forgot about her. The poor woman must be over her head with worry by now.

"God, I'm sorry, Jessi. But he's okay. The Sergeant, I mean. And I daresay he's probably having a field day right now." At this, only incomprehension meets her gaze. "Evan just got himself arrested, and it's my job to get him out. With – and this seems to be what everyone is finding _extremely_ funny – marrying him." With that she loads her Beretta rather forcefully and the sudden motion startles Jessica enough to jump a little. "Sorry. But it's just… it's…"

She tries to find an explanation, but Jessica manages to make her pause her rather agitated packing and loading with a very simple question: "What's so bad about getting married to Major Lorne?" Yeah, she thinks, what _is_ so bad about marrying Major Lorne? And after a short moment she knows it.

She sighs. "It's not… it's not about getting married to him in itself. It's about how… how people are treating it. And it's… it's being forced to do it… okay, I can't really explain it. That's stupid, isn't it?"

Jessica gives her a small smile. "No. But not everything we're forced to do is bad."

This makes her roll her eyes. "You've been hanging around way too much with Teyla."

"Who?"

Oops. Jessica has only been here a week, and she's met Teyla on only one occasion, where she was probably much too awed by that extraordinary woman that she simply forgot about it. "Uh… never mind." And finally she's done with gearing up. "Okay, uh… gotta go now. If anything happens… Maureen has an office day today and will help you. And some of the other girls should be here today as well. Don't be afraid to ask, okay?"

Jessica just nods. "Of course. And, Laura?" She raises her eyebrows. "Don't forget to bring back some pictures. I'm sure I'm not the only one wanting to see them." A little mischievous glint appears in Jessica's eyes, and she finally gets an inkling as to how she could end with someone like Will Meyers. In fact, that girl is probably not that different from him, only in degrees, but not in kind. Against her will, she has to smile herself.

"I'll see what I can do." With that, they say their goodbyes and she gets on her way back to the Control Room. And while she's running, it occurs to her that "Laura Cadman-Lorne" doesn't sound _all_ that bad after all.

* * *

**A/N: **Well... **mac **still wants to be the one rescuing our Major, but it seems like Laura Cadman has other plans ;)

BTW: Fox is the enemy. Did I already mention that? No? Good. Fox is the enemy. Can't say that often enough.


	7. Six

**Six**

He's really starting to get impatient. How long can it take to go back to Atlantis, pick up Laura and come back here? Certainly not more than two hours tops, right? Okay, granted, they took away everything from him, even his watch, and he still hasn't gotten around to adjusting his sense of time to foreign planets, but it does feel like an eternity already. And where the hell _is_ everyone? Right now, he'd even be thankful for Rodney coming by… or Simmons.

"Come on, Rodney, be nice and tell him." Ah, finally someone remembers him.

"Is that really necessary? I mean…" Uh-huh, and _someone_ knows that it's partly his fault he's sitting here.

"Yes, it is. Now go in." If he was Rodney McKay, he'd quit contradicting Teyla _right now_. It really doesn't sound like she's in the mood for a lengthy discussion. Most probably, because they already _had_ a lengthy discussion about this.

And obviously by now Rodney knows Teyla well enough to stop whining and simply do as she tells him, because first Teyla and then a pretty disgruntled Rodney enter the prison. Let's see what they have in store for him. With a soundless sigh he stops his pacing and leans at the back wall of his cell, his arms crossed, waiting for Rodney to state his business. He just hopes that Rodney is much too excited with his science stuff to remember that today it's obviously National Gloat-At-Major-Lorne-Day.

"Ah, yes… well, seeing as you might feel a little out of loop here, Teyla forced me to…" Insert death glare from Teyla here. "Kindly reminded me that it would be a good idea to tell you what hit you."

"I'm all ears, Doc." And he really is. Would be just his luck if that energy blast had some other effects aside from the hangover.

"Well… it seems like the obelisk in the square is giving off energy bursts when a male person touches it." No, _really_? Could have fooled him, honestly. "It seems like it has been installed here by a female Ancient to protect that female population of this village. From what we could gather it seems like it can project a force field over the village if operated by a female ATA gene carrier. If it's touched by a male carrier, though…"

"Yeah, I know what happens _then_." Teyla and Rodney share a look that he really doesn't like.

"Not… _exactly_." What's _that_ supposed to mean?

"Doc… what are you trying to tell me?" McKay holds up his hand, knowing full well that whatever is coming now, it's _his_ fault.

"You should be okay, at least for now. But touching the obelisk a second time wouldn't be a good idea." Not as if he was thinking about doing that again, thank you very much. "The first burst obviously was something of a warning shot. The second… would have much more dire consequences." Can't he just stop beating around the bush?

"_How_ dire, Rodney?" Rodney really doesn't want to answer this, so in the end it's Teyla who takes it upon herself.

"It would kill you." Oookay… he should have counted that in. After all, the Ancients really had this tendency to build in _fetching_ catches to their technology.

But at least this time, the solution is fairly easy. He shrugs. "Shouldn't be a problem. At least if Dr. Clumsy Feet here keeps looking where he's treading." That earns him a rather dark look from Rodney, but really, what did he expect? Up to now the scientist hasn't even said sorry. And given different circumstances – for example if he hadn't been standing in Rodney's way – _he_ could be sitting inside this cell now. He honestly doubts that Ronon would Dr. Keller let save Rodney's hide or that for example Dr. Brown would be willing to do that.

"I am sure Rodney will watch his steps a little more carefully now." Another look from Teyla reminding Rodney of the consequences if he _doesn't_.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Let's all just beat up the innocent…" Before either Teyla or he can give Rodney a piece of their mind about him being anything but innocent, suddenly Simmons comes in to tell Teyla and Rodney that Colonel Sheppard just radioed about being back with Laura in tow. About time.

He'd love to talk to her, but not with Teyla, Rodney and Simmons listening in. This whole mess is much too complicated and there's much too much behind all of this to have a casual chat with each other, within earshot of lots of other people. Apart from that the radios obviously don't work in that building anyway. So he simply nods as Teyla and Rodney say their goodbyes – Teyla with a smile that tells him to keep his chin up and Rodney with a kind of relieved expression on his face. After that, it's only him and Simmons, and the Lieutenant strangely looks like he wants to say something.

Another soundless inward sigh. "Is there something else, Lieutenant?" At first it looks like Simmons simply wants to shake his head no, but then he seems to take heart.

"Not… really, sir." He raises his eyebrows.

"Come on, I'm not gonna rip your head off. What's bugging you?" He just _knows_ the Lieutenant wants to say something, and he's really had it now with that guy's closed-off behavior.

But the Lieutenant suddenly seems wanting to play hard to get again. "It's nothing, sir. Nothing… important." How he hates it when people are like that. And he just has this inkling that he knows what this is all about. For someone so hung up on what is – or used to be – wrong with what Laura and he are doing, Simmons has been pretty quiet about the whole wedding-issue until now. Actually, he _wants_ Simmons to say it out loud, because then at least it would be out in the open and he'd know what exactly he's dealing with.

"Lieutenant… I know we haven't had the best of working relationships until now, but I promise you I won't get off on you for whatever is on your mind." He's just this close to throwing up his hands in frustration.

"Yeah, maybe _you_ won't." Huh? What is _that_ about?

"Lieutenant? Is there something I should know about?" As a team leader, one of his responsibilities is making sure his team members don't get in trouble with other members of the expedition's personnel, and if Simmons managed to make someone else mad enough to get into something more than just an argument…

"Uh… no, sir." Simmons replies, but it's _very_ evident in his face that he just realized he already said too much. He's really had it.

"Okay, you and I both know that you just lied to me. And if there's _one_ thing I really hate it's my subordinates lying to me. _How_ do you expect to get out of this now, Lieutenant?" For a moment, nothing happens. And _then_ Simmons kind of… explodes. Not loud, but agitated enough to speak in a very crisp and punctuated manner.

"With all due respect, _sir_, I am _fed up_ with everyone trying to tell me what to do and what not to do if all _they_ can do is setting a bad example and infringing on the UCMJ and the Code of Conduct every moment they get. There are _rules_, and these rules are there for a _reason_. _How_ am _I_ supposed to show respect to officers who don't respect any of these rules? Four years, I was taught to abide to each and every one of these rules, and I _accepted_ that. I _embraced_ it. It made me a better man. And then I come here, and I see officers older and with more responsibility breaking them every day and finding nothing wrong with it. _You_ accuse me of lying, because I don't want to talk to you about a private matter, but _I_ am supposed to keep my trap shut every time _you_ go against the UCMJ? Am I the only one finding that just a tad strange?"

O… kay. That was clear. And it's not as if he hadn't wanted Simmons to spell it out a few moments ago, but he does have a few choice words to say on this as well. However, as much as he'd love to tell them now, this is neither the place nor the time do to it. After taking a steadying breath, he says, "I see, Lieutenant. Honestly, I do understand your agitation." And at least partially he does. But then again… "You know, I _did_ offer you to talk about it. And obviously we _need_ to have this talk, so once again…"

"You really don't have to dress me down for this, sir. Captain Cadman already did that." Wham. She did _what_?

"Come again, Lieutenant?" Again, Simmons looks like he said something wrong. Granted, for just a _moment_ the Lieutenant had looked like actually being pleased about the incredulous look on his own face, but that had changed very fast into a look saying 'Oh… crap.'

"Look, sir… I…"

"_What_ did Captain Cadman tell you?" He really wants to believe that Simmons is exaggerating with this, or maybe trying to play some strange game here – because that's what that pleased look had said – but he just has this feeling of dread building up in his guts that Laura _really_ went as far as giving the Lieutenant a tongue-lashing, even though she _knows_ it's simply not her place. And that feeling in his guts… feels a lot like betrayal and disappointment as well. He really thought they were over doing things behind the other one's back.

"She… uh… it's not what it might seem like…"

"Mind stepping aside, Lieutenant? I think the happy couple might deserve a few minutes for themselves." Argh. Why now? That's possibly the worst moment to put Laura and him together. Because right now… he doesn't know if he really wants to see her. What he wants is hearing where Simmons wanted to go with the "It's not what it might seem like"-comment.

But it's too late. Simmons already stepped aside and practically _fled_ out of the prison – which tells him that something's really messed up here – and Laura comes in. She's got a smile on her lips, and that nearly makes him smile back… until he remembers what just happened. As she sees his rather closed-off face, whatever she wanted to say dies on her lips. He's almost sorry, but he simply can't bring himself to make believe now. Doing something like this behind his back is too grave for him to ignore it any longer.

Sheppard also seems to have sensed that something is afoot here, and beats a hasty retreat, saying, "Alright, I'll give you two lovebirds a few minutes, huh. Remember that you're expected before the village council ASAP, Captain." At that, Laura simply nods at him, already knowing that whatever is going to come now won't be pretty.

* * *

**A/N: **Yep, I'm still working on this one... first of all: Lots of thanks to my beta **mac** who still managed to beta this although her laptop gave her a pretty hard time (I can sympathize, believe me...) :) And second: Today I received an invitation for the written entrance examn for the German Federal Foreign Office. Yay me! Only means I have to brush up my almost non-existent Spanish... and the English test from last year looks like... uh... hell :S I felt like a first grader reading that :S


	8. Seven

**Seven**

When Colonel Sheppard has left the room, Laura turns back to him. "Evan…"

He can't contain his anger any longer, can only turn it into an icy undertone, like every time when he doesn't want to shout at her. "Is there _any_ sensible explanation for my Lieutenant just telling me _you_ chewed him out, Captain?" That's a low blow, and he can already see it hit home. For a moment, it looks like she's going to extract her claws and fight back with a tone as vicious as his. He really wouldn't be surprised if she did, because that's what she always does when someone hurts her: Hurt back.

But she actually takes her time with answering, obviously needing it to calm herself down. She squeezes her eyes shut, pinches the bridge of her nose, everything to keep her from lashing out like she's so good at usually. Then, after what seems like an eternity to him, "I'm… I'm sorry. Honestly. I didn't do it to interfere with your authority."

He rolls his eyes and throws up his hands. "Oh _great_. That's really comforting to know." Biting sarcasm now and still trying to keep himself from shouting at her… because she already looks like he just slapped her. Okay… calm down, don't let your anger get the better of you. Remember what happened last time?

But she's not making it easy for him, because she can't fully keep from biting back. "I had a _reason_, okay?"

Oh, a _reason_. Of course. "You mean a reason apart from thinking I can't solve this on my own?" That's exactly what this feels like to him. Like she thought taking matters into her own hands was necessary because Simmons was starting to get cheeky. But he had everything under control. He _knew_ what he was doing. Honestly.

"It wasn't like that. Evan, I _am_ sorry about this." She's getting defensive again. And how is he supposed to withstand her saying sorry in such an honest way any longer? In fact, she's really starting to look a little desperate, like she _knows_ she screwed up big time and doesn't know how to fix it… being afraid of just having broken the whole relationship.

He shortly closes his eyes. As agitated as he is, he has a feeling that he can trust her well enough that she didn't jeopardize their relationship for no reason. Something big must have happened for her to act like this. "Well then, what _was_ it like?"

Please, he thinks, tell me he gave you a _reason_ for you to react like that. A reason that made in _necessary_ for you to give him that talk on the spot and not wait until you could tell me. "Look… we… we don't have much time anymore." No, that's _not_ what he wanted to hear. "I'd tell you now, but… I have to talk to that council and… just trust me I had a very good reason, okay?" This is just not true. What the _hell_ is this all about? "Please, just trust me. I'll explain. Honestly. I _promise_. Just not now."

His first impulse is to simply close this discussion and ask her to leave, because he might do something stupid if she doesn't, but there's something in her whole bearing… something that tells him that she _wants_ to tell him… that she _wants_ him to know whatever caused her to do it, but simply _can't_. And it occurs to him… that she might be _protecting_ Simmons. Like whatever he said or did was bad enough that she knows he'll have a go at Simmons the moment he sees him again. He starts to realize that indeed this might be a little too messed up to be cleared up with a sentence or two. Still… "Laura… do you really expect me to simply say yes to this and go along with whatever you're playing at here?"

She's looking a little relieved now… she just knows him too well. "I'm sorry, but yes… I do. Look, let's get this whole thing over with and I promise I'll give you an explanation once we've got a little more privacy." Fair enough, at least for now.

But he's still irritated enough that he can't refrain from saying, "Fine. But you realize appearing like I'm actually _happy_ about getting married to you will take quite an effort now, right?"

At that her face – that had been hopeful for just a second – falls, and he's a little sorry for that now. "I know. And I'm sorry about that as well. But… just think about Rodney's face when he has to be nice to us the _whole_ evening."

Aw, dammit, she _really_ knows him much too well by now. She _knew_ that would tempt him. On his face there's already a reluctant half-grin forming. "Mh. That's almost worth it." Her face lights up again, and _that_ always gets him, most of all after seeing her so very distraught about knowing she screwed up and not being able to clear it all up, because she would get someone else in trouble with it. However, just for good measure, he adds, "Uh-uh, Captain, I said _almost_ worth it. And this isn't over until you tell me your mysterious reasons."

She's giving her best to look rueful and demure, but he can see her relief showing through. "I know. Honestly. I… I gotta go, now… council's waiting and all that…"

Just a moment before she can actually turn, something comes to his mind and he walks up to the barred door where she's still standing. "Laura… just one last thing. Don't shove Simmons into the nearest wall. Give him a chance to defend himself, will you?"

And because now he's so much closer to her, he can see her blushing because he was pretty good at guessing what was _really_ on her mind. No doubt she was already wishing she could get her hands on Simmons. "Huh… whatever gave you the idea I could go up against a strapping young SF-officer?"

"Countless hours of hand-to-hand combat training." he only deadpans.

"Oh… errr…"

Her caught in the act expression is so funny, that he has to hold back a smile. So instead he just sighs and says, a little wearily, "Just leave the shoving part to _me_ this time, _if_ he really did it on purpose."

She's caught herself and is all serious again. "Of course. Just for the record, Evan: I think you're a damn fine CO and I would _never_ do anything to destroy that reputation. I will fix this."

The earnestness in her statement moves him and he has to look down for a moment because it also embarrassed him a little. Which is when he realizes that she has unconsciously put one of her hands on the bars of his cell's door, and _now_ he _does_ want to show her that despite all the gruffness and the disappointment he trusts her enough to clear this up. A little tentatively he puts his own hand atop hers and tells her with the same earnestness she just displayed, "Just for the record, Laura: I know that." A little startled at his unexpected move, she wants to say something, but doesn't find the right words. He smiles a little. "Now, come on, start planning this wedding. If it has to be a shot-gun wedding, it should be the best we can get."

That gets him a return smile and a squeeze of his hand before she simply says "Yes, sir." and leaves the prison, looking very relieved. God, he really hopes he isn't misplacing his trust, because even after everything the prospect of saying "I do." to her is gaining more and more appeal… and he actually has to remind himself that he will _not_ do that in a legally binding way here.

* * *

**A/N:** You know, I hate writing this kind of scene... I just love my characters too much ;) And no, this still isn't really over. BTW, I hope to get the next chapter done today or tomorrow so the lovely **mac** can beta it before she sinks into the pre-con frenzy (have I already told you how envious I am? No? I really envy you ;)). It just means I have to stop writing out all the FanFic100 plot bunnies populating my slightly deranged mind for a day or two... (and we'll just forget about improving my Spanish).


	9. Eight

**Eight**

Whoa… that was certainly _not_ what she had expected when Sheppard had led her into the prison building. But yeah, it just figures. Of course things wouldn't go smoothly when Major Evan Lorne and Captain Laura Cadman are about to get married. She's just relieved that this isn't a _real_ wedding. Maybe this could be seen as their dress rehearsal, and don't they say that the worse the rehearsal goes… Holy crap, what is she _thinking_? This is an assignment, there is _no_ reason and no _time_ to think anything else. Besides, she has a village council to speak to, a Lieutenant to hunt down and a scientist to beat… glare at.

Alright… what to do first? Oh yeah, the council. Swiftly, she makes her way over to the fairly large, official looking building Teyla and Colonel Sheppard are standing in front of. She's trying to look her usual cheerful self, but the argument with Evan keeps coming back at her and with it the dreadful feeling of being in serious trouble. She knew it had to come some day, but she would have liked it to be some time where they are alone and she has enough time to explain to him. But in there, where everyone can listen in on them… and she just has this feeling that if she had told him _now_ what Simmons hinted at repeatedly and with no time to calm him down enough, the wedding would have been very… interesting.

A small sigh escapes her, and so the first thing Sheppard asks her when she arrives is, "Everything okay, Cadman?"

"'Course. Now, can we get started?" He doesn't say anything, because he realizes pretty fast that he won't get anything out of her anyway, but Teyla gives her a look that says "You may fool John, but I _will_ make you talk." She's just grateful that this time it's _only_ Teyla wanting to make her talk, and not also Jennifer Keller. One of them is already enough to handle.

"After you, Ladies." With that, they enter the building. Inside, they are led into a room lit by candles and torches, like everything here. Teyla and her are offered chairs opposite six other women, while Sheppard is simply… ignored and therefore takes to standing in a corner by the door, where he can still keep eye-contact with Teyla, but is unseen by the village council.

He had briefed her on what is expected of her on the way from the 'Gate to the village, so she knows what they will ask her now, after the introduction round is over. "You are the one who will take responsibility of the trespasser?" the oldest woman of the round says, and her first impulse is to tell her that "the trespasser" has a _name_ and a _rank_. But a warning look from Sheppard makes her keep her tongue in check and simply nod.

"Yes." The old woman looks at her with stern eyes, and she feels awfully much like being measured.

"You decided to be joined with him on your own free will?" Yeah, uh, well… define free will.

"Yes." Did that sound convincing? According the looks two of the women throw her… no. Crap.

"Can you testify to this?" She throws Teyla a short look. The Athosian, though, doesn't waver or hesitate, just smiles.

"Yes. It was only a question of time until these two would be joined in matrimony." Don't overdo it, Teyla. And is that an amused smirk she gets from Sheppard? One day… she'll show him what zoomies get for smirking at Marines they think are blushing.

But obviously… the blushing seems to have helped, because almost all the women's faces all around the table change into a much more benign expression as they see her involuntary reaction to Teyla's statement. "I see. Now that we have settled this… we can move on to the heart of the matter."

Which turned out to be an exact account of how this wedding is going to proceed. It doesn't take her longer than five minutes into the discussion that she has firmly decided to keep her _real_ wedding – _should_ she ever marry – as small and as casual as possible. But at least she doesn't have to wait until the real wedding to find out that there's really not much that she hates more than all this ceremonial and celebratory planning crap. A few times she's just _this_ short of giving up, running out of the room and freeing Evan the good old-fashioned way using her P90 and preferably a _big_ packet of C4, but a few warning looks from Sheppard and at one point Teyla's foot on hers make her stay put.

When it's finally over, it takes all her strength not to exclaim how relieved she is to get out of this stuffy room and be able to move around again. She'd take a mission with lots of shooting and running every day above all this talking. How the diplomats can stand this on a nearly daily basis is really beyond her. And now she only has half an hour's break before it's all about dresses and hairstyles and _why the hell_ couldn't she just marry him in her BDUs? Isn't it embarrassing enough that they have to this at all? Does it have to be the whole nine yards, complete with a dress she'll most probably look horrible in and the whole hair act? That will surely do _wonders_ for her reputation as a kick-ass dynamite nut.

"So… got some helpful suggestions for the real deal?" Okay, that's it. If she has to hear just _one more_ stupid joke about marriage, marrying or weddings, she'll scream. And then make whoever is to be the lucky one regret the joke in an instant. With a vengeance.

"Sir… just a humble request, but… would it be asking too much to _please_ refrain from _any_ more jokes, quips, puns, witty remarks and generally allusions to the m-word and the w-word for the time being?" she asks him in a tone that's just barely restrained.

Sheppard wants to answer her, no doubt with one of the things she just asked him to abstain from, but a pointed look from Teyla makes him reconsider. "Of course not, Captain." The look he passes back to Teyla has something of "Happy now, old spoilsport?"

"Thank you, sir. I'm sure Major Lorne will appreciate it as much as I do." In fact, she just has this feeling that Evan will appreciate it maybe even more than her, because if there's anything he doesn't like it's people having too much insight in his off-duty life, even if one of these people is his CO.

Now Sheppard does look a little rueful, maybe because he actually knows very well the deeper implications of all of this or at least has an inkling as to the fact that despite this being a mission there's more to the whole issue than simply being another way of rescuing one of their own from an unfortunate predicament. "Don't mention it. And… uh… Cadman? You need a break or something?"

Yes, goddammit. She doesn't want to admit it, but she could really use some minutes for herself to get her act together, what with the slight information overload from the wedding-briefing and the awful argument with Evan that won't stop bugging her and everything. Without waiting for her answer, Sheppard adds: "Anyway, you got until the team briefing in ten minutes. See you at the Major's cell." At first she wants to make a remark about the bride seeing the bridegroom before the wedding and bad luck, but remembers her own request _not_ to make any more of these.

"Yes, sir. Mind if I take a little walk outside the village?" Please let me go, she thinks, because she _desperately_ needs to get away from the curious gazes and the prying eyes, not only of the villagers but of her teammates as well.

"No, go ahead. Just don't blow anything up by accident." At least it was a Dynamite Laura joke, and these she can handle.

"Wouldn't dream of it, sir." For good measure, she adds a smirk, and he just nods and dismisses her.

She turns around to leave the village's premises, but just as she's about to get out of ear-shot, she hears him say to Teyla, "Try and make her talk, will you. Something happened between her and Lorne. Don't want them to do something stupid." Oh yeah, great, thank you, sir. She'd love to turn around and tell him that she's not amused about him thinking they would let personal difficulties get in the way of their performance, but that would tell him she listened in. And so she just walks on with long forceful steps.

After a few more steps, she's at the edge of the forest. But instead of finding herself alone, she sees someone else. Just at the edge of the forest, a lone figure in Atlantis BDUs is sitting on a tree trunk. Simmons. Huh? She wants to walk by and leave him alone, because quite frankly right now she can't guarantee keeping to her promise to Evan, but unfortunately he has already spotted her.

For a moment it looks like he'll spare her, but then he seems to have decided to get on her nerves. Great. So much for "having a few moments to herself". As he reaches her, he clears his throat and says, "Ma'am… can I have a word with you?"

Straining not to bellow at him that no, he fucking _can't_, she takes a deep breath and replies, "What is it?"

Obviously, some of her impatience still shone through, because he even ducks his head a little in deference. "I just wanted to say… that I didn't say it on purpose. It just… kind of slipped out. I'm sorry."

She studies him, searching for any sign of him not being wholly truthful, and thinks there _might_ have been a little hesitation and a little wavering in his voice… but maybe she'd imagined it because she _wants_ him to have done it on purpose. She decides to give him the benefit of doubt. "Yeah, you better. Because now it's up to me to save _my_ relationship and _your_ ass in the same course. You owe me a _big_ one for that, Lieutenant."

She sees him wince a little at her so openly and naturally using the r-word. Serves him right. But then he straightens up, maybe telling himself that he needs to defend his officer's honor. "I always pay my dues, ma'am."

After a moment of consideration as to how serious this is and how much she can trust him, she reluctantly nods. "I hope so. One way to repay me would be finally taking up the Major's offer and talk to _him_." Simmons wants to say something, but she isn't done yet. Some of this mess _is_ his fault, and he could have prevented it if he had just gotten over all his prejudice and misplaced pride and taken up Evan's offer. Until he hasn't done it, this story isn't over, at least not for her. "If he still wants to talk to you after I tell him how this mess started, that is. Oh, and if I ever find out you did this on purpose…"

"I'd have to make sure to be very far away, ma'am." Huh. Totally straight-faced. Either McPherson gave him some coaching on keeping a perfect poker face or he has _really_ understood that messing with her isn't a good idea.

"You have _no_ idea _how_ far away you would have to run." Evan just said not to actually shove him into the next wall. He never said anything about not _threatening_ to do it. And anyway… another idea how to teach Simmons a lesson about interpersonal relationships on Atlantis and _not_ get in Evan's way while doing it suddenly starts forming in her head.

Thankfully, Simmons isn't as good as reading her as others are yet and doesn't see his doom already lurking behind her face. So he just nods. "Understood, ma'am."

"Good. Get back to the prison building. Colonel Sheppards wants to see the team for a briefing in eight minutes." And don't you dare pretend you didn't realize that I just told you very plainly to get lost and give me at least a few more minutes of fucking peace.

For a moment, it looks like he wants to give her some excuse for not heading to the prison building immediately, but something in her face must have been scary enough that he simply says, "Yes, ma'am." and walks back into the village. _Finally_. And as she sees him scampering off, the vague idea she just had starts forming into a nice little plan. Be afraid, Joe Simmons, she thinks. Be _very_ afraid.

* * *

**  
A/N:** A-HA! Yes, the story's still very much alive. It's just a little slow going at the moment, so I hope I get it done before Christmas. But at least it means that **mac** can take her time with beta-reading and find _all_ the little mistakes ;) Oh, and before I forget it: A while ago **asugar** was so nice as to tell me about some of my stories being nominated for the Isis Award (along with **EvaFlack**'s awesome story "Coming back home" and a few other Cadman/Lorne-stories). I'd love to give you the link to the Cadman/Lorne-category, but ff-net still doesn't permit that, so everyone interested in voting please just google it. It's really very easy to find, and I'm sure all of us nominees would love to get your vote ;)

And just one more thing: Obviously fanfic100 are still having trouble with their BDT, so it'll probably take _ages_ until my claim gets accepted, which is really a shame since I have three Christmas stories already finished and have some ideas for a fourth. I'd just love to get them online... but that's life, I guess.


	10. Nine

**Nine**

Ah, finally free again. He wishes he could just grab his stuff and make a run for the 'Gate, but there's still the issue with the unstudied Ancient technology here and Rodney's profound desire not to leave the job unfinished, even if he has to hand over the field work to a female scientist. So no running to the 'Gate and thus alienating the local population for him.

He wishes they would give him back his stuff, but obviously he's only out on parole and until there's someone who can legally compensate the village for any possible further missteps, he's obviously damned to feel like a teenager who has to wait for his parents to pick him up from the police station. And so he's the only one sitting at the table the council has granted their team who's not in full combat attire, and feels very stupid because of that.

Suppressing a sigh he forces himself to concentrate on Laura's account on how this whole wedding is supposed to be conducted and what's expecting of them during the ceremony and afterwards. From what she tells them, it sounds as if it has some similarities with Celtic or pseudo-Celtic wedding traditions, involving a lot of symbolism and stuff. He just hopes he can remember it all when it's time to. He takes another good look at Laura beside him, and gets the impression that she's a little wound-up and not exactly happy, and he wonders if this is just because she's probably just fed up with talking and planning or if it still has something to do with their argument from before.

To his slight dismay, he finds himself wanting to reach out and put a hand on her shoulder or rub her back to make her relax a little. He has to remind himself that it's not forgiven and forgotten yet, and that he still needs to hear what brought her to do something like this behind his back to decide whether to forgive her or not. But he was never good at seeing her unhappy, and it _is_ putting strain on him to see her unhappy now.

So to distract himself from the sight of her, he turns his gaze to the rest of the team to do a quick study of his teammates. There are, for example, Colonel Sheppard and Teyla. He's seen both of them sneaking him and Laura strange looks, as if they are both waiting for a bomb to explode, and he has the uncomfortable feeling that one of them has noticed some of what went on between Laura and him and has told the other one about it.

Then there's Ronon, who took great care not to sit beside Rodney, and he wonders not for the first time how deep the rift between these two _really_ became with Keller making a decision. Maybe he should suggest to Sheppard to lock them up in the work-out room and have them battle it out, as archaic as that sounds.

Next are his two Sergeants, one of them looking relaxed like always and just a tad disappointed to hear that "bachelor bash" is something unknown in this society, the other looking just a bit like being glad that he's not the one having stumbled against the obelisk and happy to just be observing from the sidelines rather than having to be an active participant in any of this.

Simmons… Simmons looks like he's trying to make himself invisible, probably because he knows that he's already done enough today. Or is he now afraid of his CO? That guy really needs some straightening out, and he feels irritation at himself creeping up because obviously he didn't try hard enough to set the Lieutenant's head right. A little annoyed he pushes that thought away, because it just serves to remind him that Laura obviously only needed a day to crack Simmons' shell open whereas he didn't manage any of that in several _weeks_.

Beside him, Laura is finally done with talking and leans back in her chair, looking a little exhausted and frustrated… not much different from him, probably. What wouldn't he give now to be alone with her… no, scratch that. Scratch all thoughts in this direction until further notice.

For a moment, it's silent. Then Rodney clears his throat. "So G.I. Joe is marrying Lara Croft. Wow, wedding of the year."

Before he knows it, his frustration has gotten the better of him and he mutters loud enough for everyone to hear it, "Just shut up, Rodney."

Rodney gives a huff of righteous indignation. "What? I was just making an observation based on…"

"Do you want the first swing or may I?" Surprised, he looks at Laura. The look on her face can't really decide between smirking and genuine annoyance. He gets the feeling that she's just _that _close to make her suggestion real. And quite frankly: If she did, he wouldn't stop her, seeing as all the stupid remarks are starting to get to him as well… and the fact that Rodney is the one responsible for all of this.

But Sheppard decides to step in. "Hey, no one takes a swing at the resident scientist, kids."

As if on cue, _both_ of them answer him with a disappointed "Awww." There's a snort from Meyers' direction… and did Ronon just throw him a look of total understanding? He looks at Laura and she gives him a subtle, but infectious grin that makes him want to do… things that would be highly inappropriate right now.

Thank God for him, Sheppard clears his throat and says, "Okay, now that we know all our places… let's get to work, huh." Unmistakably the cue for Laura and Teyla to leave the room and go… do whatever they are expected to do. They get up, and he wants to walk over to her and show her through some gesture that his anger has dissipated a little and that he just wants to get this over with as much as she wants. But the room is full of people and the last thing he wants is everyone watching them and guessing what exactly is going on.

So the only thing he does is try to catch her eyes. Shortly before she leaves she looks back a last time and gives him a tight little smile. He tries to answer it with something encouraging, but he's not quite sure if he actually managed that. Ah, hell. Who would have thought that a mission like this – without any shooting, running or explosions – could be a _lot_ tougher on both of them than the usual crap the universe likes to throw at them?

When the girls are gone, it's his turn to start preparing. From what Sheppard told him he's supposed to change into traditional garb, and he just has this feeling that they're only doing this to embarrass the strange aliens that stepped through the 'Gate and disturbed their peace. Anyway… off to just another building it is. At least they aren't accompanied by guards anymore.

As they walk over, they pass the Obelisk, with a few feet of distance between them and that ugly looming thing, and he feels dread building up inside of him. It's stupid, he knows, but the thing with what would happen if he touched that again is really getting under his skin. "Major Lorne?"

He can just hold back from jumping at the low voice of his CO suddenly beside him. "Sir?"

"Everything okay between Cadman and you?" He frowns. This really isn't the right place to… wait. Where's the rest of the team? Oh… obviously Sheppard has told them to keep a respectful distance. Great. That means he's probably going to get an earful for letting himself be so distracted.

Taking great care to control his voice and not let any apprehension show through, he says, "We have everything under control, sir."

"That's not what I asked you." Dammit. But at least Sheppard doesn't have this menacing undertone. Well… yet.

He swallows a little. "I know, sir."

Sheppard sighs. "Look, I'm not… _prying_. I'm just… trying to make sure this will go smoothly."

Yeah, great how much his CO trusts him. And here he thought he'd made clear enough that he's capable of separating private problems from professional assignments. Which is why he can't quite hold back a tight undertone to his voice. "I also know that, sir. But believe me, if there was something wrong enough to influence our performances, I'd tell you."

Sheppard sighs again, this time a little resigned. "I wasn't asking as your CO."

Oh. Errr… huh? If this isn't about being professional… what is it about _then_? But anyway, they have reached the building he's supposed to stay in until the ceremony, and he doesn't want to occupy Sheppard too long, because that would raise suspicions among his own men. "I… appreciate that. It's just that… I'd prefer not to talk about it right now. There's already enough unwanted attention on the two of us." He hopes Sheppard will accept that, because the last thing he wants to do now is anger his CO with turning down a well-meant enquiry.

After a moment of consideration, Sheppard just shrugs and says, "Okay, I get that. And hey, just another day and you can step back from the limelight, Major." With that, his CO gives him a slight smirk.

He makes a face. "It's really not funny, sir."

Again some glee in the Colonel's face. He _knew_ an answer like that would be a real treat for his CO. "Well, from _your_ perspective, maybe."

And so he keeps up the morose act just a little longer. "It's not funny from _anyone's_ perspective." Alright… keeping up the act isn't _that_ hard, because he still doesn't see what's so funny about his predicament.

"Oh, just a little bit." They enter the building, alone since Sheppard has gestured for Ronon to stay outside with the rest of the gang and have an eye on McKay and his continued research. Lucky, lucky McKay…

"Not in the least."

"Aw, come on, Major, try to see the upside: Just for once Cadman can save your ass without having to risk her own life." He wishes Sheppard wouldn't have reminded him of all the times Laura has risked her own life to save his. Every time he thinks of them, he feels inadequate as a soldier and as an officer. So often they all tell him one way or the other that he's doing a great job, but that nagging doubt still lingers on.

And so his voice is a little tighter than he would have liked to when he replies, "I would prefer it if she wouldn't have to save my ass _at all_."

Sheppard probably has sensed that this isn't a particularly nice topic for him and tries to lighten it up a little. "Then maybe you shouldn't have leaned against that obelisk."

Unfortunately it's not really working and he finds himself throwing Sheppard an odd look. "Erm… I didn't."

That only gets him a grin which tells him that Sheppard just wanted to get exactly this reaction. "Oh, you know what I mean."

Now it's his turn to sigh. "You've got an answer to everything, don't you?"

Smug grin now. "Yep. And damn proud of it."

He has to fight down the impulse to stick out his tongue to Sheppard. Instead he stays with a dry "I'll remind you of that next time _I_ have to bail _you_ out of something, sir."

Sheppard snorts. "Point taken, Major." Then he gets into business-mode in. "Anyway… get ready. I'll send someone in when it's time for your grand entrance."

He can't help smirking. "I'm already looking forward to it."

"Liar." is the only thing Sheppard answers, and then he claps him on the shoulder. It's his final cue to get in the room already prepared for him and with a sigh that sounds a little like he's carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, he gets in.

* * *

**A/N:** First of all, of course thanks to **mac**'s awesome betaing. Thanks to that, I could finally get behind a few secrets of English punctuation ;) Apart from that, I may have to rework my plan for following chapters, so it could take a while until the next ones are posted. Some things... just don't add up, at least for now. Hopefully, I'll get this done before Christmas.

That said: I just realized that for a lot of you it's finals time, so I wish everyone who's busy with finals good luck and utmost success. It's been three years since my last finals, but I think I can still remember the frenzy they can drive you into. Hope you all do fine :)


	11. Ten

**Ten  
**

That… went well, didn't it? At least Evan did his best not to let on how much it must have bothered him to be forced to sit beside her. She really hopes they could both make the rest believe that everything was okay between them, because she's just fed up with being watched too closely. As of now, she can honestly say that she really can't recall any other situation where she wished to be able to hide away behind the solid doors of her quarters like this.

Maybe… maybe that's going to be the very first thing she does when being back on Atlantis: Hole herself up in her quarters for at least a week until all the buzz has quieted down a bit. And maybe when Evan's irritation has faded enough that he won't make it impossible for her to explain everything in a reasonable way.

Yeah, because that worked so very well all the other times, a little treacherous voice tells her, but she shuts it off, because she has a job to do now. Granted, it has to do with hair style and fancy clothes, but by calling it a job maybe she can convince herself to stop fretting about it and simply get to work.

She sighs and walks into the room, Teyla following her. After they left the briefing room, they haven't talked much – she only told Teyla she is _not_ looking forward to the dressing up part – she still suspects that Teyla will have to say something about the situation between her and Evan sooner or later.

For now, though, Teyla only walks over to a table in the middle in the room. On it there are several items, one of which seems to be a neatly folded piece of cloth. After a short look, Teyla picks it up and unfolds it. It turns out to be a dress of something like linen, dyed a deep, rich blue, with embroidery around the rectangular shaped neck line and the hems of the wide arms.

"I would say… this _is_ something to look forward to wearing." Teyla just remarks with a friendly smile, and if she's honest… Teyla is right. Someone had had a very good eye, and she's quite relieved that the dress isn't white. Blue is so much more her color. She has to suppress the immediate reflex to make some ironic remark – conditioned through years of having to prove you were one of the boys – and instead sighs, a little defeated.

"Okay… could have been worse. At least it's appropriate for a Marine officer." Yeah, well… after years of being among guys, she obviously needs a little more practice to be able to appreciate some of the things said to be of female interest a bit more.

And so she finally surrenders and starts changing out of her BDUs and into what they laid out for her. Teyla offers to help her – being a bit more familiar with this kind of semi-medieval garment and all – for which she is actually quite thankful. For a while they are just chattering away about this or that, but when Teyla helps her fasten the ribbons on the back of the dress, she says, "I hope this whole situation does not put too much strain on your relationship." trying to sound casual.

And if she hadn't overheard what Colonel Sheppard told Teyla, she might have assumed Teyla was really just making a casual comment about it, but she did overhear it and so she immediately knows that this is Teyla's attempt to get an opening for wheedling it out of her if they will jeopardize the whole outcome of this thing because of some private misunderstanding. And she is just fed up with beating around the bush. "It doesn't." Teyla wants to cut in, probably to ask again, but she has decided to cut to the chase. "The thing that does is that I did something behind his back which he didn't like. And from where he's standing… he has every right to."

"Laura…" Nuh-uh, she wants to get this over with without any more fuss.

"Don't worry about the mission. We _are_ professional enough not to let it get into the way of doing the job. I promised him I'd clean it up, and he agreed with that. Please don't… interfere, any of you. I know _you_ wouldn't, but to be honest… I'm not so sure about Colonel Sheppard. If he asks you… could you please just tell him that we have everything under control and he doesn't have to worry?" Teyla looks like she wants to make some kind of contradictory statement, but obviously she managed to look determined enough that she just sighs and starts handing her the rest belonging to her wedding attire.

"If that is your wish… I will do so." She just nods.

"Thank you." And now that Teyla got to pry around a little, she thinks it's only fair she gets her own turn.

"So… when's your turn?" Mh… maybe she could have done better with starting off a conversation about something Teyla pretty surely doesn't want to talk about. And yes, Teyla just frowns at her.

"When is it my turn with _what_?" Come on, Teyla, don't be dense.

"Well… getting married. For real, I mean. Not like… this." She turns back to the mirror, facing herself, done with the dress and only needing some advice on what to do with her hair. At present… it's sticking out in every direction. She tells herself that it's just her professional ambition to do _every_ job as good as possible that makes her want to improve that, not something as mundane as vanity. Determined she starts loosening her usual braid… or at least what's still left of it. How the hell did it all get so messed up?

Teyla, behind her, feigns ignorance, while helping her with taking the hairpins out. "But… whom should I marry?" She can't help frowning. How stupid does Teyla think she is?

"Uh… Kanaan? I mean, he's the father of your son, you're living together… I just thought it's only a matter of time until you two get hitched." For a moment, neither of them say anything, but then Teyla stops helping her with her hair and something that looks suspiciously like helplessness creeps on her face.

"Laura… it is not as easy as it seems." Okay… now comes the hard part. She knows it's probably neither the right time nor the right place for this, but for _weeks_ now she's been wondering what's going on between Teyla and Colonel Sheppard, and she has the feeling that whatever it is, they should really clear it up. She knows all too well what a toll keeping things secret and trying to ignore difficult feelings can take on you.

But just for once she wants to try the stealthy approach instead of just waltzing in. Teyla is worth that. "It's not? Well, I thought that…" Ah hell, screw it. She'll _never_ be a stealthy-approach-girl. "Okay, no. This isn't gonna work." She turns around to face Teyla instead of just looking at her reflection in the mirror. "Teyla, tell me. I'm your friend, I'm not gonna tell anyone, whatever it is. So?"

Teyla looks… not exactly happy. In fact, she looks very much like she wants to be somewhere else entirely, which just serves to harden her own suspicions. "I… do not think that this is either the right place or the right time for this." No, it isn't. But there's so much discomfort and frustration in Teyla's whole bearing that she feels like she should do something about it now.

So… to shorten this, she just grabs the bull by its horns. "It's Colonel Sheppard, isn't it?" Bingo. Even serene and controlled Teyla can't hold back a look that tells her she hit home.

"I do not know…" No. No pretending anymore. Teyla was the one telling her she had to stop pretending she wasn't involved with Evan and she will now tell Teyla that she has to stop pretending there isn't something beyond friendship going on between Colonel Sheppard and her.

"Trust me, Teyla. I'm not gonna blab about it. Not even to Evan." She means that. Whatever Teyla tells her is going on between Sheppard and her, she will keep it to herself, and herself only. She knows that there is a very special bond of friendship between Teyla and Evan, but she also knows that there are some things that should only be kept between Teyla and her.

For a moment, it looks like Teyla actually considers telling her everything about the strange looks and gestures and overall tension between her and Sheppard, but then she opts for, "I… I will talk to you about it. I promise. But we have a task to fulfill now." The look on Teyla's face… tells her that for today the subject is closed, definitely. Well… it was all the confirmation she needed anyway, because Teyla just more or less admitted that there are things between her and Sheppard that are not how it should be between teammates. For the time being, she'll have to be content with that.

She purses her lips. "Yeah… right. So… how does a girl wear her hair if she wants to be fashionable in the Pegasus galaxy?" A little relieved that she'll let it lie for now, Teyla gives her a small smile.

"Well… I think I have an idea…" Immediately, she sets to work.

When they are finally done, she takes a last scrutinizing look at her reflection. The woman that stares back looks a lot different from her usual self. It's been _ages_ since she last wore a dress, and it makes her feel pretty uncomfortable to wear her hair not completely pinned up on a mission, but overall… it's not _that_ bad. She just hopes she can manage to push away all thoughts of how much damage all of this could do her reputation and her standing, most of all with the NCOs.

Meyers and McPherson are Marines like her, but all this stuff… makes it very clear that there are far greater differences between them and her than simply their ranks. She doesn't want them to see her like this, because it does make it exceedingly hard to think of her only as a Marine, and not as a… well… woman. "Laura? Are you ready?" As if to chase those thoughts out of her head, she shakes it slightly and straightens up.

"Yeah, as ready as I'll ever be, let's go." It's a job, she reminds herself, and the guys know that. They'll not think less of you – well, at least those of them who do have respect for you – and they'll be professional about it. Teyla just nods and they leave the room to attend maybe the most embarrassing thing happening to her yet.

* * *

**A/N:** Oh well... I'm really taking my time with this, ain't I? I still have it on my mind, I swear (and because **Eva** asked: Moore and Reece are coming on... even slower than this one... sorry :S But you might want to keep an eye out for them in the "Hundred Ways" ;)). I just have some RL issues with which I have to deal right now and which seem to put a damper on my writing :S I hope it'll all be resolved by the end of the month and I think I'll just try and distract myself from it with the writing...


	12. Eleven

**Eleven**

Done with it. Done, done, done, and never going to repeat it. Well, in _that_ way, at least. Done with the walking around the fire thing and the handfasting thing and the promises to each other and – most of all – the kissing. She _never_ felt so uncomfortable kissing someone _ever_ before, not even during some stupid game of Truth or Dare or when kissing some boyfriend in front of her brothers.

Not that she didn't _want_ to kiss Evan… she just didn't want to do it in front of his team and their CO. It was a very short, very light kiss… but still a kiss. The only comfort she has is that Simmons may have been the only one feeling more embarrassed than her and Evan. Well, and that the kiss felt a teeny tiny bit like only Evan's sense of duty held him back from deepening the kiss a little further.

However… the Evan that's now standing in front of her does _not_ look like he wants to do anything in the way of kissing. In fact, he has his arms folded in front of chest and looks very much like he's expecting something from her. "Well, then… let me hear it."

Argh. "Hear… what?"

"Don't pretend to be clueless, Laura. You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about." Okay, pretending she doesn't know what he wants to hear from her did _not_ work to soothe the irritation on his face.

Still… "Yeah, well, but this isn't exactly what I'd call "a little more privacy"." Because, you know, outside everyone is straining to hear how the wedding night is going, she thinks a little sourly. She's also positive that already bets are being exchanged about various details of whatever people think they are doing in this room, just after the celebrations ended.

Evan doesn't look like he gives a damn about that, though. "It's enough privacy."

No it's _not_, dammit. "Hey, everyone out there is just _dying_ to… erm… listen to us."

He unfolds his arms and takes a step towards her. The look on his face… scares her a little. She knows with unerring certainty that he would never hurt her physically, but that doesn't change the fact that even with everything that happened at the wedding – the kiss, the happiness at the celebration afterwards that was at least part real – the fight in the prison was a hard blow for him. "As far as I'm concerned, _no one_ is listening out there. Now, do I get to hear something of substance or will it just be some more flimsy excuses? Because if it's the latter, I honestly don't know how much more time I can wait before considering suggesting we might pass our next nights in separate quarters."

He didn't just… did he? She feels her heart hammering at his only thinly veiled threat, because she knows he doesn't make empty threats. And it didn't serve to make her any more susceptible to telling him now, when the mission isn't over yet and where she doesn't know who else is listening, what exactly made her go toe to toe with Simmons. She folds her arms defiantly. "That's blackmail."

At first it looks like he's going to lose his patience and display a temper rivaling her own –something he really only rarely does – but then something else wins. Resigned and frustrated, he runs a hand through his hair and over his eyes. "Maybe. But it feels very much like this is the only way to get through your thick skull."

It dawns on her that maybe he wants to know the reason for her dressing down Simmons so desperately because he doesn't want to drag this all the way back to Atlantis and have it overshadowing everything they do for an infinite amount of time. If she's honest… she doesn't want that either. She just hopes he'll not let his agitation get the better of him when she finally tells him. "Alright. Just… promise me you will refrain from _anything_ rash when I tell you, okay?"

An unnerved groan escapes his throat. "Laura, I told you, if you don't stop this cryptic crap…"

"Evan, if you want to know it, you got to promise first." If he thinks he can blackmail her, she can very well expect him to do this on her conditions.

Obviously the need to know what happened is surpassing his irritation at her demanding something in return for telling him. "Fine. I promise. _Now_ do I finally get to find out why you chew out a Lieutenant on _my_ team _and_ try to keep it quiet?"

Well… now comes the… interesting part. She bites her lip. "Yeah. Okay… uh… where to start?"

"How about the beginning?" he states with sarcasm underlying his tone, but at least he seems to have gotten the anger inside of him under control again.

She makes a face at him. "Thanks for the hint, Major. Anyway… the morning after you told me about the I.O.A.'s decision I happened to stumble over Simmons telling your Sergeants over breakfast that he… erm… well…"

"That he _what_?" Impatience is starting to get to him, and of course he has every right to that, but all of a sudden _she_ feels embarrassed by what Simmons implied back in the mess hall. Suddenly she's a little afraid that if she says it out loud now, Evan won't be furious at Simmons but start to think about it and maybe come to the same conclusion… Ah hell.

"That he… thoughtIsleptmywayupthechainofcommand." The last bit really came tumbling out of her mouth as if it was one word, nearly unintelligible.

"What? I didn't quite get that." Um, yeah, that was to be expected.

Taking a deep breath, she tries it a second time. "That he thinks the only reason I got promoted was that I'm sleeping with you."

For a moment, the silence in the room is so thick that it's nearly palpable. Then… Evan literally explodes. "What the…? He called you a _whore_? Okay, where's that little son of a bi…"

He's already on his way to the door, ready to find Simmons, drag his ass out of his bed and beat the guy into submission. Quickly, she reaches out and gets hold of his arm. "You promised, Evan!"

The firm hand on his arm and the determination in her voice luckily get through to him. Taking a deep breath, he squeezes his eyes shut and rubs his neck. "Right. Right, I did. But why didn't you _tell_ me, Laura?"

The only thing she does is put her hand to her hip and looking at him very incredulous, impatient and irritated. "Because this is _exactly_ how you would have reacted. I just know that the moment I told you, Simmons would have been dead. I wanted him to stop this before _you_ got your hands on him. And besides… he insulted me in my presence. I _had_ to react."

"Yeah, but coming to me and telling me would have been a reaction as well." _Finally_ they're back to a sensible discussion.

"Right, and you know how it would have looked to Simmons? Like he was _right_. Because it would have appeared like I lack the authority to chew someone out who behaved insolently to _me_ and had to run crying into my lover's arms."

Evan still isn't fully convinced, though. "You don't know about that."

"Yes, I do. Evan, he had _no_ qualms about backbiting and bitching about his CO in front of the two Sergeants you are commanding. Someone had to set this kid's head right, before any of this got to you. Because I just _know_ that he would have never made it out alive of your office. I did this to save _both_ your asses, because even _you_ come to a point where you let your professional decisions be influenced by personal feelings. And I know that you'd deeply regret overreacting afterwards and that you'd probably beat yourself up about it for the rest of your life." He would. Both of them know that.

He's really taken aback for a few seconds. When he finally answers her, his tone has changed drastically from agitated to humbled and a little disbelieving. "I… honestly don't know what to say."

She gives him a reluctant little smile. "How about telling me if I'm wrong or right?"

Evan mirrors her smile and says resignedly, "Much as I hate to say it… you know me far too well." Then he closes the gap between them, but doesn't touch her yet… as if he's a little afraid she won't let him. "Laura… for what it's worth… I'm sorry."

She feels a little ashamed at his admission, because after all it _was_ her who let it get this far. "For what it's worth… I'm sorry, too. I should have cleared that up with you before you went on the mission. It's just… I was so…"

Before she can say anything more, he reaches out and cups her cheek. "Ssh, it's okay." She leans into his hand, glad, that this whole stupid affair is over now, at least for them. For Simmons, though… no, she won't think of that now. She has done her utmost to protect that man from his own stupidity but she just reached the point where he is on his own again. Meanwhile, Evan is very intent on repeating that kiss from the wedding ceremony, only without all the awkwardness. But before that… he obviously has to say something. "After all, this is supposed to be our wedding night, and we're supposed to make it worthwhile."

With that, he kisses her lightly, although they both know which activity is _totally_ out of bounds for them tonight. However… "About that… I think I've got an idea…"

He grins. "Do tell." She leans in to whisper it to him, partly because she still suspects people listening in on them, but also because she just wants to be as close as possible to him after this stupid and horrible and exhausting day.

When she's done, he grins at her again and says, "Such an evil plan. I love it." Then… he leans in to whisper something to _her_. "By the way… like the blue, Buttercup. And the dress."

The only answer that comes to her is something she nearly always does when someone pays her a compliment, even him. She scrunches her forehead and says, "You're just saying that out of pity."

By now, he's used to her slight inability to accept a serious compliment about her looks enough not to take offence by her comparatively brush answer. He just looks at her, serious enough to tell her he really means what he just said and affirms his statement, "I'm saying it because I like the blue and the dress. On you, I mean."

He doesn't give her time to answer, just captures her mouth again with his, this time with a little more force behind it and she _really_ starts regretting they clearly aren't allowed to let this kiss follow the appropriate continuation. So she breaks the kiss to gently remind him, "We have a plan to fulfill, farm boy."

A little disappointed and defeated he nods. However, he can't fully keep from any fooling around and suddenly picks her up to carry her over to the bed. It makes both of them laugh out loud, and she's relieved that Simmons and his slip of tongue have done no permanent harm to this wonderful thing she has with Evan.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, I _know_ you were all dying for the wedding scene, but you know... I just had this feeling that I should save this for a _real_ wedding, should I ever get that far ;) Another thing: **mac** (who did a wonderful job with beta-reading this chapter) and I felt that I wrapped up the whole thing with chewing out a member of Evan's team behind his back too fast. What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Tell me :)


	13. Twelve

**Twelve**

"Good morning, Captain." She turns around again and murmurs something unintelligible into her pillow. Usually, he'd simply kiss the spot between her shoulder blades and let her sleep just a few minutes longer, but usually they're not on a mission when waking up in the same bed. And besides… he still feels like having to get back a little at her for the whole chewing-out-Simmons-thing. Which leads him to take drastic measures. "You got five seconds to get your lazy ass outta this bed, Marine!"

Immediately she's sitting upright on her side of the bed and glaring at him, which is quite a scary sight actually. Not even the messy hair and sleepy eyes can soften the mean look in her eyes. Holy crap. "If you _ever_ do that again, you're toast and I'll have you for breakfast, Major Early Bird."

Note to self, he thinks, next time you bellow at your girlfriend in the morning be sure to be _very_ far away. "Speaking of which… I think we already missed that. So, you've got… oh, ten minutes before appearing in front of that council again." And also be out of the bed before she can demonstrate why a number of female expedition members already refuse to spar with her.

Not able to withstand at least a grin he expertly ducks one of her favorite weapons, a pillow, and darts over to where his stuff is lying. Thankfully, no one told them they were required to wear local garments again and so he just assumes it's safe to wear BDUs again. True to her nature, Laura is pretty monosyllabic while dressing – in fact, she's _silent_, but he's used to that and knows he should better keep quiet now. He just hopes she can rein in her usual morning edginess enough as not to offend anyone.

"Okay, I'm off… be a good little zoomie while I bail you out." With that, she's out of the room… only to return and give him a short kiss on the lips before dashing off. Huh… what was that for? Oh wait… maybe for reminding him to keep true to his promise not to do anything rash about Lieutenant Simmons. But as it is… it's become pretty hard.

Come to think of it… he really doesn't want to go out there, because he truly has no idea what he's going to do once he sees Simmons again. Additionally to the whole thing with walking around and spouting crap about the origin of his and Laura's relationship, there's now also the strong suspicion that the Lieutenant's slip of tongue wasn't one. He really wants to believe that all of this roots in Simmons being mighty confused, but… he does remember the hints of satisfaction he saw in Simmons' eyes when the Lieutenant had blurted out the thing about Laura dressing him down.

A knock on the open door brings him back to the present. "Morning, sir."

"Morning, Sergeant. I take it you're here to take me back to detention?" He throws Meyers a look that must be almost weary, but the Sergeant just gives him a reassuring little grin.

"Nope. Colonel Sheppard wants you in the council antechamber. I think you're both supposed to wait there while the la… Teyla and Captain Cadman hash it… negotiate the terms of your release." Oh, great, at least he doesn't have to pass his wedding morning in a cell. For that alone he thinks he will ignore the slightly smug undertone of Meyers' voice.

He has something else than a reprimand up his sleeve anyway. "Still disappointed there was no bachelor bash, Sergeant?"

Ha. That did surprise the Sergeant, if only for a moment. He really misses a beat or two, as they walk over to the council building. But then he seems to have caught himself and clears his throat. "Quite so, sir. But at least I managed to get a few very nice pictures."

What the…? "How…" Beyond that he's actually speechless and the Sergeant uses that for a deadpan.

"I could tell you, but then I'd have to shoot you, sir." At least Meyers has the decency to say that totally straight faced and refrain from any smirking whatsoever.

Still, it's bordering on insolence… again. One day he _will_ catch Meyers off-guard and overstepping a boundary, he's sure of that. For the time being he settles with saying grudgingly, "_Very_ funny, Sergeant." And yeah, okay, his curiosity gets the better of him. "Anyway… can I see them at least?"

Meyers nods. "I'll send them to your account when we're back."

"Fair enough." Then he gets an afterthought. "And when you're done with that: Destroy all other copies of them."

The Sergeant rubs his neck and tries to give him something resembling puppy eyes. "Uh…"

Alright, that's the moment where he really should put a stop to this. Again, he's glad McPherson and Simmons are nowhere in sight. "Don't have me make it an order, Sergeant."

Meyers just nods again, now all serious. "Right, sir."

He risks another covert look at his Sergeant. Did he detect a note of hatching a plan to find a way out of having to delete the pictures in Meyers' face? "No loopholes, Sergeant."

"Of course, sir." He really wants to believe the Sergeant's sincere and dutiful expression, but he just has this feeling that whatever pictures Meyers took will resurface in Atlantis one way or another. But well… he'll deal with that when it happens, since they have arrived at the council building anyway.

"Well… good luck, sir." He turns to Meyers, his eyebrow raised. "I… uh… should refrain from saying "You're gonna need it." right?"

He nods. "Exactly. Unless you consider me Lando Calrissian and yourself Han Solo, that is."

For a moment, he has the pleasure of seeing ever cheerful, unfazed Sergeant Will Meyers actually gawk at his superior, but the Sergeant is able to get back his bearing fast enough. "Not for a second, sir. If anyone around here is Han Solo, it's certainly you." Actually… it would be Colonel Sheppard, as they both know. A reluctant little grin makes it onto his face.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Sergeant. Anyway… I'm sure the local population can still use someone to help them clean up from last night." Meyers just grins and he suspects that it's actually not a bad thing that he just made himself known as someone who could recite Star Wars if the need arises. "Get going, Sergeant."

Meyers gives him a casual salute and a nod and is off to the site of yesterday's celebration. With a sigh, he enters the council building, only to find out he'll not have to wait alone in the antechamber. With his long legs outstretched and his eyes half-closed, Colonel Sheppard looks very much like he's dozing to catch up on the sleep he didn't have last night, but he knows better. Behind those sleepy eyes there's a man very much awake, and he'd really love to know how Sheppard does that.

Anyway… he sits down beside his CO. "Morning, sir."

Sheppard just nods. "Morning, Major." His CO falls silent again, and he's actually glad for that, because as great as Laura's little plan had been he'd fervently hoped that _Sheppard_ hadn't been one of the people lounging around their bedroom door or windows. "So… did you really violate regulations last night or did you two just do the Sally Albright?"

Holy… _what_? "Uh… excuse me, sir?"

Now Sheppard drops the pretense of dozing and gives him a smirk. "Oh, you know, "When Harry met Sally", the scene in the deli." Oh. Oooh, _that_ scene. Dammit, Sheppard _had_ been listening. And it wouldn't even be of any use to make his CO aware of the fact that listening in is not exactly polite because he'd just claim he had to make sure everything was going according to the rules and he'd be right.

So he just settles with, "Oh yeah, right, get it."

Again: Silence. That is, until Sheppard decides that he does want an answer. "You still owe me an answer, Major." Well… he knows _Laura_ would have teased the Colonel just a little while longer, but he isn't Laura.

"We… did the Sally, sir." He looks at Sheppard, and for a moment the Colonel looks absolutely serious, but then both of them break out in a grin.

"Your plan or Cadman's? No… wait, I _know_ you won't give me a straight answer to _that_. I do have my suspicions anyway, so just let me say… you were pretty convincing. I swear Rodney actually went a little green around the gills." The image alone makes them both snort.

"That's what you get for listening in." Both shrug, and he's desperate to change the topic. "Speaking of which: You didn't get allowed inside this time, sir?"

Sheppard heaves a little sigh. "Nope. Seems they have finally noticed Teyla and I have other means to communicate than just talking." He throws his CO a look that's something between bewildered and questioning. Sheppard chooses not to look directly at him when adding, "I know what you're thinking, Evan. But she's made her decision. And I'm not the one to try and change her mind."

Whoa, that's… really some kind of admission. He doesn't have to ask who "she" is, because everyone knows already anyway. He wishes he could tell his CO that he has the feeling that Teyla – like Laura all these months ago – hasn't made any real decision at all, but he also knows Sheppard well enough to keep this all to himself. However, Sheppard isn't _just_ his CO, he's also something very close to a friend, and so he decides to take the diplomatic medium. "Maybe she'll surprise us all, sir."

The Colonel doesn't comment on that, but the way he presses his lips together and looks away again tells him that his CO doesn't believe in that particular surprise and doesn't intend to do anything to force it, either. He knows it isn't his business and that Sheppard detests people meddling with his life as much as he does, but he wishes he had Laura's way of just steamrolling any reservations and say what's on his mind anyway. At least that would probably resolve the whole "Do they or don't they?"-thing. He's just _this_ close to add something a little less diplomatic when Sheppard speaks up again, "You know there's one good thing about this."

He raises his eyebrows. "There is?"

"Yep." A smug half-grin appears on Sheppard's face, and he isn't really sure if he wants to know what this one good thing is. "You'll finally get to write "Aliens made us do it." in one of your mission reports."

He _knew_ it. He and Laura will _never_ live this one down. It's worse than Laura being stuck in Rodney's head or him becoming a little too competitive with Zelenka with the Ancient's version of "The Settlers". Everyone will remember this forever and use it on them in every possible and impossible moment. At least, he thinks, there won't be pictures floating around of this. He tries not to look too disgruntled when he replies, "Wow, dream of a lifetime come true."

"Yeah, isn't it? Honestly, what's a tour on Atlantis worth if you don't get to write that at least _once_?" He wants to reply that this is just another thing he could have done without – like broken legs, broken ribs, injured girlfriends… – but the door to the council chamber opens and Laura and Teyla come out, followed by the rest of the village council. Immediately Sheppard and he get up, but he's still strangely reluctant to meet the councilwomen's eyes. There's just something in them – some kind of very serious bearing, like they know they are meant to be better than men by their gods – that irritates and intimidates him.

So instead he throws Laura a look and she just gives him a short rolling of her eyes. Seems to have been some tough talk. It's Teyla, though, who speaks up first, slightly bowing and addressing the eldest councilwoman, "We are most pleased over the successful and constructive negotiations and thank you for your patience." He takes another look at Laura, and her face says very clearly "_Their_ patience? None of _them_ were in a cell… or forced to wear a dress." A little smirk grazes his face at that.

"And we are pleased that you were so cooperative." Teyla bows again. He throws a look at Sheppard who looks very much like "Can we _go_ now?" and he feels himself strongly mirroring that feeling. And he's pretty sure Teyla must have seen that as well, but she _really_ takes her time with saying goodbye, and he just has this feeling… that she's doing it intentionally. Like she still has to settle an account with Colonel Sheppard.

Then, _finally_, they are allowed to leave the building. When they get back in the open, he can actually feel a collective silent sigh of relief going through their little group. "Well… time to lead your bride home, Major." He and Laura turn around to Sheppard who seems to be mighty pleased he could catch them off-guard with that little remark. He wants to say something, but Laura beats him to it.

"Actually, sir, I think it's _me_ leading the _Major_ home, at least according to the rules here." Sheppard grins.

"Either way, it's _home_ now. Major?" He looks up. "Round the troops up. Although I've got the feeling that at least Sergeant McPherson will be a little disappointed at having to leave here." Huh? Did the Colonel see something _he_ didn't? Anyway, he just gave him an order.

"Yes, sir." Well… off to home it is, then.

* * *

**A/N:** See, I haven't given up on this story. In fact... I just managed to finish it. There's one more chapter and the Epilogue to go. And thanks to **mac** who betaed it and found herself reminded of her very strange relationship with "Whe Harry me Sally" ;)


	14. Thirteen

**Thirteen**

Three days should really be enough for her little plan to succeed. So she hopes Major Moore has something for her when she enters his computer lab. "Morning, sir."

Grinning, the Major answers, not taking his eyes away from his screen. "Morning, Captain. I believe you owe me one now." Ah yes, he _has_ something for her. Sometimes she really wonders how Maureen can put up with someone so openly full of himself. Resisting the temptation to roll her eyes, she steps beside Moore.

"Not until you show me, sir." He smirks, taps a few keys on the keyboard and the big screen suddenly shows a picture from one of the surveillance cameras two floors below.

"Et voila." Now she does roll her eyes.

"Captain Reece taught you?" He wants to answer, but the pictures on the screen are much more interesting anyway. And she doesn't want to risk losing the chance to act now because he does something to ruin her plan just to teach her a lesson. "Anyway, alright, I owe you one. And no telling Major Lorne."

He holds up his hands. "Of course not. But this is the first and the last time, Captain."

She nods, aware of the fact that he's serious about it. "Yes, sir. Well… hope you enjoy the show."

Moore grins and again she wonders how rational, dry Maureen could end up with someone so smug. "Certainly. In fact, that's the only reason I'm helping you."

Instead of an answer, though, she just tips her forehead in a casual salute and heads to the small lab two floors below she just saw on the screen. When she steps out of the transporter, she's a little surprised she almost ran into Sergeant Meyers. "Oh, sorry, ma'am, I was just…" And suddenly her little plan expands a tad.

Smirking, she interrupts him, "Never mind, Sergeant. In fact… are you headed somewhere important?"

A little wary, he answers, "Well… not exactly. The boss just wanted to round us up for a briefing on next month's mandatory drills but there's still half an hour left." Ah, great. And even greater that Evan wants to see his team in half an hour.

She nods. "Good. Come with me." She's sure that inwardly Meyers just rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders a little resignedly, wondering why the hell he still puts up with all those crazy Atlantis officers.

"Yes, ma'am." She leads him over to the little lab, waves her hand over the door opener… and yes, et voila. In front of them, a couple is… at it. As in… passionately. The guy is a Lieutenant they both know very well and the girl looks very much like the IT technician Moore identified as the one with the smoldering looks over the monitor's rim.

As if on cue, both she and Meyers cross their arms simultaneously without even looking at each other. After watching the couple a few more moments, she simply says, "One question, Sergeant: Why do I have the distinct feeling that Atlantis is turning into a college dorm more and more?"

Meyers, having already realized what this is about, simply replies, "Don't know, ma'am… maybe it's all those ki… people making out in those dark corners and transporters."

By now, the couple has stopped kissing, but the guy hasn't turned around yet. Afraid, Lieutenant, she wonders. Aloud, she says casually, "Yeah, you could have a point there."

Now Simmons does turn around. She has to give him credit that he tries to position himself protectively in front of the IT technician. At least _someone_ taught him a bit about being a gentleman. Although… the technician doesn't look as half as embarrassed as Simmons does. "Ma'am… it's not what it looks like."

She's just _this_ close to start laughing but just for the sake of her plot working, she keeps up the neutral façade. "That's what they all say. Isn't it, Sergeant?"

"Affirmative, ma'am." Did she just detect barely veiled amusement in Meyers' voice? She'd love to take a look at him but she's sure that would ruin the effect of their little performance.

Indeed… Simmons looks like he's… _blushing_. Or is that just the semi-dark of the lab? "Honestly, ma'am, we were just… erm…"

"Improving your mouth-to-mouth technique?" She raises her eyebrow, suddenly sure she must have picked that look up from Evan. And it's even more surprising that it's having the exact same effect that it has when Evan does it.

"Uh… something… like that, yeah.." Definitely embarrassed. Behind Simmons, she can see the technician trying not to grin too broadly, obviously not fully oblivious to the underlying tension between Simmons and her.

She knows she could needle Simmons even more now but she also knows that mercy is always better remembered than cruelty. And more embarrassing. "You might want to try that again in some place a little less public. And you might want to read the memo on the new I.O.A.-rules concerning interpersonal relationships again. _Both_ of you."

He nods, trying to retain at least a bit of his dignity. "Yes, ma'am."

She decides to be just a little forthcoming. "Carry on. Well, just not here, that is."

"Yes, ma'am." In his eyes she can see that he _knows_ he's at her mercy now and that this is her way of telling him once and for all never to mess with her again. He also knows that this time he has no way of getting her into trouble with Evan again. She has caught him in a situation where he more or less acted against the Code of Conduct set by the IOA and he can consider himself _very_ lucky if _she_ doesn't get _him_ into trouble with Evan.

Still… she can't keep from one last jab. "And try not to be too late to your next briefing. Major Lorne _hates_ latecomers." It's true. He does. But unlike her… he is a patient person. Only Simmons doesn't know – or at least doesn't believe – that yet.

"Of course, ma'am." With that she decides to leave the Lieutenant and his technician alone again. She doesn't look at Meyers but gives him a jerk of her head, turning away from the door, trusting Simmons' sense of duty not to need any more reminders not to make out with anyone in a basically public room again. And not to trust Atlantis locks anymore.

When the door has shut again, she finally turns to Meyers and without another word they both grin at each other. After a short burst of mutual low laughter, the Sergeant says, "Impressive, ma'am. I take it you had some help from _certain_ officers with IT skills?"

"Actually…" she grins, "just _one_ officer with IT skills. So… what do you think? Any lasting effect on the Lieutenant?"

He clears his throat. "I'm not entitled to answer that question, ma'am."

She snorts. "Why so modest all of a sudden, Sergeant? Come on, we both know you do have an opinion on that."

"Alright… only because it's you, ma'am." And of course because they are fellow Marines. "Yeah, I think the Lieutenant has learned his lesson. And no, I won't mention any of this to the boss."

Knowing full well that she owes him a big one for this, she nods and says, "I do appreciate that. Anyway… I gotta go and finally finish my work in the explosives lab. And if I'm not mistaken, you have a briefing to attend to. See you and Jessi at lunch?"

"Of course, ma'am. And maybe I'll even get the boss to put the paperwork aside and come with us." The hint of a grin appears on his face and she has to mirror it. One day she'll really have to thank him for looking out for Evan… and her like this. But for now, Meyers just nods and takes his leave.

When he is gone, she taps her headset. "Major Moore… thank you. You were a tremendous help."

"My pleasure, Captain. About time someone got back at that green Lieutenant." Yep, someone _really_ enjoyed the show. She just bets that Moore even found a way of capturing the dialogue and not just the pictures.

However, she feels compelled to make it clear that this wasn't just about petty revenge. "I prefer calling it advancing his soft skills training, sir."

"And I bet he won't forget that lesson for a while. By the way, does that mean that I can call on you if _I_ need someone to discipline a team member?" As if he isn't able to do _that_ on his own. She resists a sigh.

Instead she just says, "Depends on who it is. I don't think anyone can – or needs to – discipline _Sergeant DeLisle_, for example." In fact, she thinks, sometimes you get the feeling that DeLisle is the one disciplining his CO, not the other way around. And Moore knows that.

"You got a point there, Captain. Anyway… still got some _real_ work today. Moore out." Ah, so busy all of a sudden? Alright, maybe that's _her_ clue to start working on that wretched containment field again.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, this story is still on my agenda... and actually, now there's only the epilogue missing. I really hope you liked Laura's little plan to get back at Simmons... I for one had fun writing it ;) And I daresay, my wonderful beta reader **mac** already had fun reading it ;)


	15. Chapter 15

**Epilogue**

"_And if you love him  
Oh be proud of him  
'Cause after all he's just a man"_

_Tammy Wynette, "Stand by your man"_

Satisfied that her plan about teaching Simmons a little lesson without the danger of it backfiring on her actually worked and that she could _finally_ repair Rodney's careless damage to the containment field after hours of work, she enters their… Evan's quarters, expecting him to be working on his desk. But instead she finds him sitting on the bed with his laptop, tapping through something and… smiling, obviously totally engrossed in what he's doing. Huh.

She's in a playful mood today, so she doesn't clear her throat or do something else to make him aware of the fact that she entered the room and walks straight up to the bed. But as she sits down beside him to startle him a little, the only thing he does is shutting the laptop's lid absolutely cooly and calmly. Dammit, he _had_ noticed her coming in. And she had had such a great plan… okay, improvise now. "Oh wow, did I finally catch you watching porn?"

Ha, he totally hadn't counted on _that_, as his slightly WTF-expression tells her. But then he manages to get back his usual bearing and looks kind of down on her, slightly appalled. "Just for that remark you will _never_ get to see what I was just looking at."

At the corners of his mouth, a grin is already waiting to be released and that tells her that he's in pretty good spirits… even though she'd been a little apprehensive that there was still some residual irritation about the whole thing with Simmons. It's all she needs to reply with a bright grin, "I _knew_ it was porn. Come on, show me!"

She reaches for the laptop but he manages to snatch it away and holds it just out of her reach. Now there's a full-fledged grin on his face as well. "Try and get it."

Well, that's an invitation she really can't reject and so she lunges forward over his legs with a squeal but he's fast enough to drop the laptop on the other end of the bed and grab her around the hips. He drags her into his lap and keeps a firm hold around her, but giggling she manages to grab the laptop and while trying to wriggle out of his grasp she can actually open it. Lying on her stomach across his legs, she can see the last picture he was looking at.

It's… her. At the "wedding". Whoever took the picture had caught her in movement, her half-down hair flying, a bright smile on her face, the dress flowing. She taps forward through a couple of other pictures. There is Teyla and Colonel Sheppard in one of the very rare unguarded moments together they allow each other, sharing something that looks very much like a mutual secret smile. There's also McPherson, caught exactly in the moment where one of the local women had managed to crack his stoic façade and made him show a half-smile.

Some of the pictures are a bit blurred or underexposed, as if the photographer had to take care that no one would see the camera. Still a little surprised she turns around to Evan. "Oh… who…"

But then it hits her, because there's exactly _one_ person who's almost _never_ seen on the pictures. "Meyers." They grin at each other, since they said it in unison, both with a certain amount of resignation, but also a chuckle at the Sergeant's cheekiness.

She detangles herself from him, rolling her eyes and saying, "Yeah that explains why Jessi didn't ask _me_ for any pictures."

"Mh, she'll have to have a pretty good memory, because these are the only copies left… and it'll stay that way." A smug grin grazes his face and she's sure he has something to do with that.

However… "Hey, you've been here for what? Three years? Four? And you _still_ believe you can keep something like that for yourself?" She gives him a look that says very clearly what _she_ thinks about the longevity of the pictures' secret.

She can see very well that he's just _this_ close to sticking out his tongue, but in the end he settles with a shrug and a kind of haughty look. "I can still try." Then he sighs a little. "Anyway, you know… it wasn't _that_ bad being married to you." Ah, changing the topic because he knows _very_ well the pictures will resurface sooner or later and he'll definitely hear a "Told you so." from her.

But he's giving it a… strange turn. And did that just sound like an insult in the disguise of a compliment? "Why, _thank you_."

He grins, obviously enjoying that he could get back at her a little. "No, really, even with all the commotion concerning Simmons and everything. I mean… wouldn't be _that_ bad an idea to try it on a permanent legal basis."

What the…? Did he just say what she thinks he just said? Dammit, she knows she should leave this alone, but a little devil inside of her makes her say it anyway, "Hey… did you just propose?"

He's about to quip something meaningless, but then… he just… shrugs helplessly and rubs his neck. "Erm… yeah."

Oh.

_Oh_.

She looks at him and he looks at her and… he tries looking casual, like he just told her that there's steak on the menu tomorrow _again_, but she can see that beneath it all… he's not casual _at all_. The whole ordeal… feels a lot like one of these situations where she's so clueless as to what to say that she'd rather run away from it than be forced to an actual answer. But she swore to herself she'd not do _that_ anymore… so she does the thing closest to it: Stall. "That's about the strangest proposal I ever heard."

For a moment he looks actually crushed, but then he seems to have decided not to give up so easily this time. Obviously… for some reason… he wants to go through with this. "Does that mean you're saying yes?"

It's just that… it comes out of nowhere for her.

Or well… not _that_ much out of nowhere. After all, they just returned from a mission where the focal point was… well… their wedding. This starts to make her afraid that this is just an aftereffect of the whole thing, that he doesn't really want that. More stalling then. "God… you're just too full of yourself, Major."

"I can't help being the best thing that ever happened to you, Captain." Ah, okay, good. Back in familiar territory. She can handle that. But… there's this look about him. As if beneath the teasing… Ah hell.

"But you _could_ try the proposal thing again." She's surprised to see his eyes light up at her giving him the opportunity to either deny it all or actually try again, and this time less awkwardly.

He takes a little time and she's a delighted to see that there _are_ things that unsettle Major Evan Lorne. Who would have thought it was something as easy as a proposal. In the end, the thing he comes up with is, "Alright… marry me, Buttercup?"

It's… well… short. But it's sincere, she can see that. And honestly, who needs big gestures and all the other stuff anyway? She still can't resist a little more teasing. "Is that all you can come up with?" His first reaction is a near horrified look, but then he realizes she didn't really mean that and… gets off the bed, to… "Hey, hey, okay, I was just joking… quit the kneeling! I'll take you without it, farm boy."

He blinks. Huh. Look who just can't believe his luck. She can even see him swallowing. "Does _that_ mean you're saying yes?"

She chuckles and rolls her eyes a little. "Yes." For a moment… neither of them say anything. Then… he does something she has never seen him doing before: With a startling cry of joy he jumps up and nearly throws himself on her and she has to laugh out loud… and between the kisses both of them just can't stop laughing.

* * *

**  
A/N: **So here we are with the end... _finally_. Who of you did see the end coming? Come on, tell me, how easy to see through I am :D Betaed of course by **mac** who reminded me that I should keep my plot bunnies under control or I might find myself betaless one day... And yes, I'm not _quite_ done with the whole "Protect and Survive" universe. I'm trying to work on a few more stories (if you aren't tired of them, that is) so keep looking out for them :)


End file.
